Product Details

• Actors: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Nicole DeHuff
• Directors: Jay Roach
• Writers: Greg Glienna, Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg, Mary Ruth Clarke
• Producers: Amy Sayres, Emo Philips, Greg Glienna
• Format: PAL
• Language: German (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, German, Dutch
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Run Time: 108 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (395 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005MFNW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,361 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Meet the Parents" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Randy Newman's opening song, "A Fool in Love," perfectly sets up the movie that follows. The lyrics begin, "Show me a man who is gentle and kind, and I'll show you a loser," before praising the man who takes what he wants. Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) is the fool in love in Meet the Parents. Just as he's about to propose to his girlfriend Pam (Teri Polo), he learns that her sister's fiancé asked their father, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), for permission to marry. Now he feels the need to do the same thing. When Greg meets Jack, he is so desperate to be liked that he makes up stories and kisses ass rather than having the courage of his convictions. It doesn't take an elite member of the CIA to see right through Greg, but that's precisely what Jack is. Directed by Jay Roach (the Austin Powers movies), Meet the Parents is an incredibly well-crafted comedy that stands in nice opposition to, say, the sloppy extremes of the Farrelly brothers. Stiller is great at playing up the uncomfortable comedy of errors, balancing just the right amount of selfishness and self-deprecating humor, while De Niro's Jack is funny as the hard-ass father who just wants a few straight answers from the kid. What makes the Jack character all the funnier is Blythe Danner as his wife, the Gracie to his George Burns, who is the true heart of the movie. Oh, and Owen Wilson turns in yet another terrific comic performance as Pam's ex-fiancé. --Andy Spletzer

From The New Yorker

Jay Roach moves on from the campy delights of the Austin Powers series to direct this smoothly acted comedy of errors. Ben Stiller plays a modern man charged with a Victorian task: asking his girlfriend's father for permission to marry his daughter. With a calamitous surname ("pronounced just like it's spelled, F-O-C-K-E-R") and a faintly hilarious profession (male nurse), Stiller seems like a sitting duck for the secretive, overprotective father, played by Robert De Niro. Stiller grovels, De Niro growls, and the girls (Blythe Danner and Teri Polo) watch from the sidelines. This is dumbed-up comedy: there are just enough unexpected moments to redeem all the easy pleasures of the slapstick. -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In-Law Laughs...., October 4, 2003

By 

L. Shirley "Laurie's Boomer Views" (Huntington Beach,CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Meet the Parents [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This review refers to the VHS edition(Universal) of "Meet the Parents"......

You may not think your in-laws are really so bad after seeing what poor Greg Focker has to go through with his future family. Yes you read right, his name is Greg Focker and he's about to spend the weekend with the parents of the girl he intends to marry. Pam's dad, Jack Byrnes, really loves his daughters, and any man who wants to share their lives better be up to his standards. He's an ex-CIA agent who will scrutinize your every move and you better like his cat as well.What will it take for Greg to win the hand of the girl he loves..and does he really want to be a part of this crazy family after all? It's laugh out loud stuff as every move he makes turns into a hysterical series of events that has Pam's family turning against him.

Who else could be the over protective,over bearing,over analyzing, prospective father-in-law than than Mr. Tough Guy himeslef..Robert De Niro. His straight faced comic timing is just one more side of this very talented actor. Ben Stiller is a laugh a minute as he tries to please this unpleasable Dad.
The rest of the cast is nicely rounded out by Blythe Danner,Teri Polo,James Rebhorn and the fabulous Owen Wilson. Director Jay Roach brings this terrifc ensemble together beautifully and the music by Randy Newman adds more fun to the story.It's one of those great comedies that is still funny with repeated viewings.

The VHS is in Stereo surround, sounds great,has closed captions, and has a nice picture as well.

So kick back,enjoy the film, but..be careful not to let the cat out!.....have fun with this great addition to you comedy or De Niro collection.....Laurie

[...]

22 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meet the Parents, February 28, 2001

By 

L. Williams (Raliegh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Meet the Parents [VHS] (VHS Tape)

You don't need a lot of words to describe a movie this funny. I really didn't stop laughing from the very first minute of the movie. I admit that I have been disappointed by Stiller movies in the past, like "There's Something About Mary" and "Mystery Men". I didn't hate them, but I didn't really want to watch them over again after seeing them.

Ben and Deniro are both brillant together in this movie. They are both from completely different planets as far as comedic prowess and that makes them work great against each others characters. The play on Focker's name is just so hilarious. It's a great movie, I could watch it over and over again.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funniest Flick Of 2000, January 22, 2001

By 

Josh (Wyoming, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meet the Parents (DVD)

In a year filled with less-than-par movies (especially those in the comedic genre) this was a breath of fresh air. I haven't heard a theatre audience laugh harder since 1995 when I watched "Dumb & Dumber". This is a similar comedy with a little more sense and a little less slapstick.

Greg Focker is a nurse who, before asking his girlfriend to marry him, must visit her parents and o.k. it with them. Things seem to be going well enough when he picks up the wrong bag at the airport, causing the oncoming hell that is 'Meeting the parents'.

Robert DeNiro stars as the father, an ex CIA agent who keeps a very close eye on Focker, and doesn't like what he sees. He mistakes him for a pot smoking, test-cheating, porno-watching liar who isn't fit for his daughter. At the comedic climax of the film, DeNiro even gives Focker a polygraph test.

In the end, sides aching, this film left me more satisfied than I'd been walking out of a theatre in a LONG time. Although comedies typically don't get oscar nods, this one is certainly deserving.

Lets pray for a "Meet The Parents, The Sequel" to save us from future movie boredom.