Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Meet the Parents

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-09-2000, 01:06 AM:

I'm surprised no one has started a thread on this flick. I didn't think it was the funniest thing I've ever seen, but it was entertaining none the less. I screened about 10 minutes of it with a sold out audience this weekend and that definitely makes a comedy better. I found myself laughing at some parts where I did not the first time.

The one thing I'm amazed at was how many times they snuck the evil MPAA word "fucker" into the dialogue. Ben Stiller's last name in the movie is "Focker". I figured the MPAA would've freaked at that and slapped an "R" rating on it, but since there was no sex...

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 10-09-2000, 03:04 PM:

I could have sworn I posted about this movie last night, but I guess something went wrong.

I'll try entering it (or something similar to it) again....

Anyway, I saw "Meet the Parents" at Regal Madison Square 12 in Huntsville, AL and it was the first movie I've seen in a while that brought in a good crowd. The large auditorium was at least 60 percent full (maybe more) for a Sunday night show. This was a 19:20 showing in auditorium 1, and the 7ish time slot tends to be the most crowded. I'll bet it sold out for the Friday and Saturday night shows.

I recommend this movie, and mainly because it was funny. A comedy is supposed to make the audience laugh, and often, and this movie definitely was successful in doing that. I'd like to see it again eventually just to catch some of the lines and jokes that I feel like I missed the first time. I plan to buy the DVD of this movie when it comes out.

I'd like to see it again, in a different theatre, too. The presentation left a lot to be desired. The projector was aligned to put the image one foot onto the right curtains and have it stop one foot to the right of the left edge of the screen, the focus was off in the beginning, and on just the third day of running, one reel had a nice green vertical scratch through most of it. The screen seemed to be 2.00:1 although adjustable side masking was present (image seemed tightly cropped vertically). If I see it again, I'll definitely go somewhere else. The movie would have been more enjoyable if the presentation hadn't been flawed.

The plot has been used many times in the past: guy wants to marry girl, guy meets girl's parents, girl's parents don't like him. However, this movie is entertaining. It's one of those where you know from the start that everything is going to go wrong for Focker during the entire show.

Definitely see this movie. See it with a lively crowd and you'll have a very fun time.

Evans A Criswell http://home.hiwaay.net/~criswell/theatre/

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 03-19-2001, 04:46 PM:

I showed this movie to a group of friends on the night of March 10, 2001 and it was a HUGE hit with them. Those people laughed more at that movie than any I'd shown them in a while. I feel I must post and put in another high recommendation for this movie. I enjoyed it more on the second viewing than on the first. This was a very well-done comedy. The movie came out on DVD on March 6.

Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 03-31-2001, 07:13 AM:

Hi all

I saw this film at the Galaxy Drive-in in Perth on a recent visit there. The Galaxy is the last remaining Drive-in in Perth. Tickets were only $11 a car load on Sunday night.

I found the film entertaining and amusing without being hilariously funny. This is what I would describe as enjoyable and a pleasant night out. Robert De Niro steals the show though. I almost expected him to say " I want him dead, I want him dead, I want him dead..." somwhere in the film (from his performance in The Untouchables.

Notably the film would not have cost a fortune to make. I can't help wondering whether it is a remake of a French film in that regard.

cheers Peter