Little Fockers Movie Review …

A birthday party for the twins gives Greg (Ben Stiller) an opportunity to redeem himself after he takes a job that raises the suspicions of his overbearing father-in-law, Jack (Robert De Niro), in this third instalment of the hit comedy series. Greg and Pam (Teri Polo) have been together for ten years, and now they’re the proud parents of two adorable twins.

Because money is tight, and in order to keep his family afloat, devoted nurse Greg takes a second job working for a drug company, which doesn’t sit well with Jack, whose previous suspicions regarding his hapless son-in-law soon come back in full force after learning of this development. With the twins’ birthday fast approaching, the proud parents invite the entire clan over to celebrate in style, including Kevin (Owen Wilson), who still carries a torch for his pretty ex Pam. As the festivities get under way, Greg takes every opportunity available to prove to Jack that he’s fully capable of providing for his family. Now Greg has one last chance to prove that he’s trustworthy. Should he fail, the circle of trust will be broken for good.

Well, as it would turn out, we were all naughty this Christmas! So naughty that Santa decided to toss the coal out of his sled so that he could give us something far worse. This year, we all got Little Fockers in our stockings and under our trees. Let me get something off my chest, I hate those stupid Fockers. Did you get it? What do you mean no? I replaced the f-bomb with the word Focker to make it funny. I know you’re still laughing, but let me break it down anyway.

Focker is the name of Greg at the rest of his family in the third film in the Meet the Parents series. So again to reiterate, Focker sounds like the F-word, so if I say it you might think of that dirty little word without the wrath of God coming down on you for saying it. And for those of you that don’t find that funny, or perhaps found it funny a decade ago when Meet the Parents was first released and now it’s over kill, I’m afraid that Little Fockers doesn’t get much funnier than that. Little Fockers tries to use the same awkward comedy that made the original popular, but does it in such a way that it just doesn’t work.

Other than the humor that isn’t funny, the film really is a regression as to where the series should be. It just seems silly that it has been ten years, and for whatever reason, Jack still doesn’t think Greg will make a good addition to the family. I thought we dealt with that issue in the first film? But I suppose it worked in the first, and somewhat worked in the second, so in theory, why not do it again? The only reason I can think of why not is that it really makes no sense, and it comes across as just lazy.

The other failure of Little Fockers is the reappearance of Owen Wilson as Pam’s ex-fiancé Kevin. As it turns out, he never truly got over Pam and has returned to try to win her back. Unlike his role in Meet the Parents that created comedic tension between him and Greg, his appearance in Little Fockers is a complete waste of his talents. He basically shows up, gets turned down, hits on a few other women, including Greg’s mother (Barbara Streisand), and then disappears into the sunset (Hopefully for good). As it turns out, nothing in the film gets a bigger chuckle than the “Focker” jokes that are littler throughout this film, which, as I’m sure you can guess, is a significant problem.

For all those good boys and girls out there, I highly recommend you avoid this film at all costs. There is enough in Little Fockers that will make those who have seen the first two films, Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004), actually go to the theatre to see this, and I assure you, it will be a disappointment. It is simply unreal that this isn’t one of the best comedies of the year because it has a fantastic cast including Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Barbara Streisand, and Jessica Alba.

And perhaps the only real treat in this film, is for those movie nerds out there that will be pleasantly surprised by a short scene reuniting Robert De Niro and Harvey Harvey Keitel, a pair famous for the films Mean Streets (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976). But for everyone else out there, Little Fockers is nothing more than a huge disappointment and a waste of time. Hopefully this will be the final film in this Ben Stiller franchise.

Little Fockers Movie Trailer

Of course, that first time wasn’t the winner either, since my age was still too “tender”, but it remained in my mind as a good movie, just a tad sad for my taste as a kid.

We have a family breaking up: the father Ted (Dustin Hoffman) is more preoccupied with his career than family and fails to realize when his wife Joanna (Meryl Streep) just had enough. So she’s leaving him and the kid (6 year old Billy – Justin Henry). How he has to manage being a single parent and, just when it’s all falling to place, she returns and claims custody.

The plot should be pretty simple and for us easy to choose sides. And still the acting made this tearjerker sweep 5 Academy Awards (Best Actor in a Leading Role – Dustin Hoffman,  Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Meryl Streep,  Best Director – Robert Benton,  Best Picture – Stanley R. Jaffe,  Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium – Robert Benton)

At first we can comment she’s the bad parent, in the end she’s the one leaving them both. And still, he was so involved in his career he failed to even acknowledge what grade his kid was in. From the absent father is forced to become more involved in his boy’s life, while Streep is disappearing from the plot for this part of the movie, to then return to take the kid into custody.

What might have been a simple melodrama turns into a memorable movie. Dustin Hoffman proves some excellent talent while Meryl Streep convinces us her roles in The Deer Hunter and The Seduction of Joe Tynan weren’t just an accident. Let’s remember more than 30 years ago she wasn’t the top actress she is now, and that role was yet another step in getting the appreciation she not gets from everyone.

So, even if it’s an old movie and you might consider it unimportant, make some time to enjoy it. And then let us know if you liked it.