Monday 27 December 2010

Meet the Parents: Little Fockers

So the third installment of Meet the Parents has arrived. Now I don't know when the trilogy became the standardised measure of a good film but sometimes it simply doesn't work! I mean look at the Blade trilogy or even Terminator (before the McG effort) my feeling is if you finish the cake of with a layer of excrement it'll sour the whole taste. I'm not saying all Trilogies are bad but a story shouldn't be stretched for financial gain.

It has been ten years since the original Meet The Parents landed in cinemas and a lot has happened in the world. Terrorist attacks, global economic decline and Martin Scorsese even winning an Oscar. So how have the Fockers and family come along? Well you know from the title that the jokes are still the same but unfortunately so is the plot. Poor old Gaylord Focker (Ben Stiller) unable to convince his ex-CIA father in law Jack (Robert De Niro) that he is good enough for his daughter. He starts off well before fudging things up then coming good in the end - see Meet The Fockers for further details.

The formulaic approach to film, or should I say "franchise" making, appeals to the type of audience that watch Little Britain. They want the same jokes regurgitated so they know when to laugh and when to feel sad. The positives to this is that you don't need a degree to understand the references (oh look he's doing the "I'm watching you" bit again!) but it would be nice to use the brain at least once.

The gimmicks run thick and fast in this film and so do the cameos. Watching De Niro and Harvey Keitel argue about building work is like watching two eunuchs chatting up girls in a bar: You know neither of them have the balls anymore. These are the guys from Mean streets for crying out loud! Apart from the initial "look it's [insert famous person's name here]" there's not much else to it and there's the rub. There's not much else to it, less funny bits, more cameos and undoubtedly good paychecks for all involved.

Aside from the obvious jokes there are the occasional funny moments; just not as many as the guffawing donkeys in the other isles actually laugh (or LOL) at. The problem being that each installment of Meet The Parents has stuck to a vein of innuendos that cuts fairly close to the bone despite being a 12a rating. The idea that a parent would let their 12 year old watch a film where references range from Penile Dysfunction through to carpel tunnel wank cramps is a little disturbing.

Scores 2 out of 5

Twitter Fitter Review

Switch brain on standby;Watch Meet the Fockers, mix in the Little Fockers trailer and you'll save yourself time and money.


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