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Meet the Fockers
Universal Pictures


5.8

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 89 votes
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FILM:

Meet the Parents

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language and a brief drug reference

Starring Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Owen Wilson, and Spencer & Bradley Pickren

Now that Greg Focker (Stiller) is "in" with his soon-to-be in-laws, Jack (De Niro) and Dina (Danner) Byrnes, it looks like smooth sailing for him and his fiancée, Pam (Polo). But that's before Pam's parents meet Greg's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker (Hoffman and Streisand). The hyper-relaxed Fockers and the tightly-wound Byrneses are woefully mismatched from the start, and no matter how hard Greg and Pam try, there is just no bringing their families together-which all adds up to a disastrously funny time of "getting to know you." (Universal)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	John Hamburg James Herzfeld (also story) Marc Hyman (story)
DIRECTED BY:	Jay Roach
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: April 19, 2005 Video: April 19, 2005 Theatrical: December 22, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

One of those relatively rare comedies that's at once puerile, charming and very funny throughout.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The old-pro twosome of Streisand and Hoffman make such sexy and inviting ethnics (as a certain kind of movie likes to think of a certain kind of Jewish character) that they blithely prevail over the been-there-done-that gags.

Premiere Aaron Hillis

De Niro is constantly upstaged by the showstopping, sunburnt duo of Streisand and Hoffman, but even their material is so recycled (more Focker puns, etc.) that it doesn’t matter who steals the most chuckles.

USA Today Claudia Puig

It's a silly good time, and that's something these days.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The movie gets off to a weak start, but the jokes get progressively more bent.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Ms. Streisand hasn't been called on to deliver an immortal or even interesting performance, but she is a pip to watch.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

For a Ben Stiller rom-com, there's remarkably little pain and humiliation. Which, for the most part, is not a good thing.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

It's left to Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman as Greg's parents to warm up the picture, and they light it on fire. Indeed, they're having such a swell time as Roz and Bernie Focker that they seem to be in an entirely different movie--a funnier one, a sexier one and a smarter one.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

What a waste.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

If there's any reason to bother with Meet the Fockers, it's to see Hoffman and Streisand.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie is pleasant enough, but never quite reaches critical mass as a comedy.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The problem lies in the screenplay which latches on to the few clever and/or funny elements in the film and runs them into the ground via repetition.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Remember Pam? Lost in the Himalayas of big egos and overacting, she's the invisible character here. If they create a special Oscar for the most thankless part in an ensemble comedy, Teri Polo is a shoe-in.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Too much of this lame comedy feels like it was written to satisfy a contract, with gags (like the business with the perpetually horny dog or the toddler who knows sign language) that are way beneath the talents of this cast.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

A sluggish sequel.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

The picture doesn't come close to approaching the near-classic quality of the earlier film.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

It says a lot about the sequel that the funniest moment belongs to none of the big stars, but to Owen Wilson.

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

Though it's hard not to play it, the expectations game is a dangerous one, especially for sequels. And Roach's original, just like his overexposed star, set us up good.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Feels jammed into a sitcom-shaped bid for laughs.

Slate David Edelstein

From the start the jokes are on a different level than the last one: coarse, aggressive, and poorly timed by director Jay Roach.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Te laughs "Fockers" generates are the type you feel embarrassed about almost immediately afterward.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

How the mighty (De Niro and Hoffman) have fallen? More like how the mighty have pile-driven themselves into the solid mass of rock at the core of the Earth. . . .

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Danner, whose Dina actually resembles a human being, would be its saving grace if her gracefully controlled performance weren't lost in a sea of braying caricatures.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Does Meet the Fockers make you laugh? Sure it does, from time to time. Just lower your expectations to the altitude of the gag that's showcased in the trailer, the one in which Jinx the cat flushes a little dog named Moses down a toilet.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

The abundance of talent gathered for Meet the Fockers is sadly shortchanged by the unimaginative script and directorial laissez faire. It’s more like the audience has been snookered rather than Fockered.

Empire Olly Richards

A few laughs are salvaged due to the sheer quality of the talent present.

LA Weekly David Chute

Feels like a big-budget "Dharma & Greg" episode with toilet jokes.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Director Jay Roach continues his regrettable "Austin Powers" habit of beating the same shtick to death until nothing of comedy value remains.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Meet the Fockers? Avoid them would be a better suggestion.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

The cast is too good for the script and the script is too good for the director and the director is too good for the horny dog jokes.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Many regular moviegoers will be appalled by its gleeful crudity and saddened by the spectacle of three icon stars mugging through a farce that's not that many notches above "Jackass: The Movie."

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

De Niro and Hoffman almost give comic life to this brainless, vulgar farce.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Meet The Fockers has assembled a historic, once-in-a-lifetime cast, then stranded them in the laziest, most mercenary kind of sequel imaginable. It's like the 1927 Yankees taking on the Special Olympics softball team.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Don't even rent the DVD, it'll only encourage them.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.8 (out of 10) based on 89 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

B M. gave it a0:
Meet the Parents is one of my favorite comedies. This sequel is so appallingly bad I wish I could erase it from memory. I'm not sure what audience they were going after but they abandoned all the fans of the original. If you find the sex life of old people amusing then this might be for you but seriously, how long can you laugh at the same stuff again and again. Avoid this gutter trash and, unlike the original, definitely don't let your kids watch it. They'll just get depressed (and disgusted).

Van B. gave it a3:
If you never tire of all of the sex and bathroom humor spewing forth every night on TV sitcoms, then this is the movie for you. This movie abandons the original and creative comedy of "Meet the Parents", in favor of the same old "potty" humor we see everywhere else. About the only cheap comedy gag they didn't use was dressing men in women's clothing, but I'm sure if they would have thought of it, we'd have seen DeNiro in drag.

Tony B. gave it a0:
Devoid of any real humor and without any class, this is, except for the luminous and wasted Blythe Danner, a truly dreadful film.

g marocco gave it a3:
About 1/10 of the laughs of Meet the Parents.

Miriam M gave it a2:
Meet the parents was brilliant. Why'd they have to ruin it? Over the top with the sex jokes.

Gary G. gave it an8:
Excellent cast with a middling script provides plenty of silly laughs. Hoffman & Striesand are effortless, while DeNiro's continuing self-parody actually works here.

Nikki G gave it a10:
Totally fantastic, I've never laughed so much in my laugh! Brilliant funny movie. One of the best I have ever seen.

Meet the Fockers Universal Pictures

Meet the Fockers
Universal Pictures