Meet the Fockers (2004)

All hell breaks loose when the Byrnes family meets the Focker family for the first time.

Director:

Jay Roach

Writers:

Greg Glienna (characters), Mary Ruth Clarke (characters),

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Jack Byrnes
Ben Stiller	...	Greg Focker
Dustin Hoffman	...	Bernie Focker
Barbra Streisand	...	Rozalin Focker
Blythe Danner	...	Dina Byrnes
Teri Polo	...	Pam Byrnes
Owen Wilson	...	Kevin Rawley
Spencer Pickren	...	Little Jack 'L.J.' Byrnes
Bradley Pickren	...	Little Jack 'L.J.' Byrnes
Alanna Ubach	...	Isabel Villalobos
Ray Santiago	...	Jorge Villalobos
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Officer LeFlore
Shelley Berman	...	Judge Ira
Kali Rocha	...	Flight Attendant
Dorie Barton	...	Airline Clerk

Storyline

Having given permission to male nurse Greg Focker to marry his daughter, ex-CIA man Jack Byrnes and his wife travel to Miami to Greg's parents, who this time around are Mr. and Mrs. Focker, who are as different from them as can be. As asked in the first movie, what sort of people name their son Gaylord M. Focker?

---

Plot Keywords:

nurse | speeding car | police officer | police car | control freak | 

---

Taglines:

And you thought your parents were embarrassing.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language and a brief drug reference

Details

Official Sites:

Universal Studios [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Hebrew

Release Date:

22 December 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Meet the Fokkers

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$181,458 (Norway) (18 February 2005)

Gross:

$279,167,575 (USA) (29 April 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min 106 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The close-up of Bernie Focker's license plate, as he and Greg are driving away, reveals the letters TMI, a subtle reference to Bernie's propensity for overly detailed explanations and descriptions of personal information. TMI is the literary abbreviation for Too Much Information.

---

Goofs

While they are playing football in the yard, Bernard's sweat changing between shots.

---

Quotes

Greg Focker: [about the coach loudspeaker] I like that thing. Hey, mind if I, uh make a little announcement?
Jack Byrnes: Only the captain gets to make an announcement, Greg.
[pause]
Jack Byrnes: You want to honk the horn?
Greg Focker: Um, sure.
Jack Byrnes: Only the captain gets to honk the horn.

---

Crazy Credits

During the credits, Jack is seen watching the tapings of his secret camera, this was also done in the first movie when he watched Greg, this time he sees all of the Fockers in the camera. Also, this time, Greg realizes he's on-camera, and he has some fun at Jack's expense before revealing he's onto the surveillance.

---

Connections

References Lassie Come Home (1943)

---

Soundtracks

"If I Were a Carpenter"
Written by Tim Hardin
Performed by Tim Hardin

User Reviews

An extension of the original film done bigger but to lesser effect

Firmly part of the circle of trust, Greg Focker is planning his marriage to Dina and has put off a big family get together for as long as he can. With no further excuses, Greg and Dina join Pam and Jack as they take their RV down to Florida to meet the Focker family. With an eye very much on his bloodline, Jack is keen to judge his future son-in-law by his parents, which spells problems when he finds himself living with two very liberal and touchy-feely Fockers.

I'm in my thirties now and it probably is not very impressive that I can put words together in a basic sentence. Whereas for a two year old it might be a real surprise if they were to discuss their opinions on political matters as such with you. What is the difference? Well it is simply one of expectation. Coming to the subject of films, expectation can often make or break a film, with perhaps a poor Pauly Shore movie being better received by viewers than a poor Spielberg film partly because you expect that standard from the former but more from the latter. So it does help this film that with the very title you are informed that you are not about to witness the sharpest of comedies.

With this in mind I went in with a forgiving eye, just hoping for laughs but I was not really prepared for how most of the film is unimaginative and base. In the first film we had Greg contrast with stern father Jack and hilarity ensues; here we have the same setup again but this time Greg is replaced as a device by his parents. What this means is that the film essentially aims at the same low targets as the first film and mostly hits them. To avoiding being too boorish on this subject I will admit that moments are funny and that the casting was a nice try but mostly I just found it obvious and dull. Toilet humour, a retread of the CIA stuff and so on supposedly provide the comedy while the drama is the same superficial relationship stuff as before.

The cast mostly do their best to try and lift it. Stiller mugs along well enough but the real fun (such as it is) comes from De Niro and Hoffman. The former more or less just does his stuff again but is enjoyable enough, while the latter is at least having fun with a silly character. Streisand and Polo have lesser roles but still have a bit of fun, while poor Danner is just a plot device to try and the give the film some sort of centre. Cameos from Wilson and Nelson don't add much to proceedings and don't even get me starting on the annoying Pickren twins who are not only irritating but made more irritating by the way the film overuses them, apparently in the belief that "Little Jack" is funny and/or cute when really he is neither. Roach's direction is nothing short of pedestrian – even the choice of theme music is obvious and easy.

Overall then this is a film that people who really liked the first film will enjoy. Those that just "liked" it may find that they didn't like it enough to watch it twice, which is what is happening here. The cast play it up as much as they can but really this is just an extension of the original idea done bigger but to lesser effect.