Meet the Fockers

Last updated
Meet the Fockers
Meet The Fockers.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jay Roach
Screenplay by Jim Herzfeld
John Hamburg
Story byJim Herzfeld
Marc Hyman
Based onCharacters
by Greg Glienna
Mary Ruth Clarke
Produced by Jane Rosenthal
Robert De Niro
Jay Roach
StarringRobert De Niro
Ben Stiller
Dustin Hoffman
Barbra Streisand
Blythe Danner
Teri Polo
Cinematography John Schwartzman
Edited by Jon Poll
Lee Haxall
Music by Randy Newman
Production
companies
Distributed by Universal Pictures (United States and Canada)
DreamWorks Pictures (International)
Release date
  • December 22, 2004 (2004-12-22)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80 million
Box office$522.7 million [1]

Meet the Fockers (sometimes known as Meet the Parents 2) is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Jay Roach, and the sequel to the 2000 film, Meet the Parents . The film stars Robert De Niro (also one of the film's producers), Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, and Teri Polo.

Contents

Meet the Fockers was released on December 22, 2004 in the United States by Universal Pictures and internationally by DreamWorks Pictures. Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box-office success, grossing $522 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2004. The sequel, Little Fockers , followed in 2010.

Plot

With their wedding date six months away, Greg Focker and his fiancée Pam Byrnes decide to introduce their parents to each other. They fly to Oyster Bay, New York, to pick up Pam's father, retired CIA operative Jack Byrnes, her mother Dina, and her one-year-old nephew, Jack "Little Jack" Banks (the son of Bob and Debbie Banks). Jack drives the family in his new RV to Miami, Florida, to meet Greg's parents.

They are greeted by Greg's eccentric, fun-loving and free-spirited parents, Bernie Focker, a lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-dad, and Roz, a sex therapist for elderly couples. While Dina bonds with the Fockers, cracks form between Jack and the Fockers due to their contrasting personalities and backgrounds.

A chase between the Fockers' dog, Moses, and the Byrnes' cat, Jinx, culminates with Jinx flushing Moses down the RV's toilet. Bernie destroys it to save Moses. Later, Bernie accidentally injures Jack's back during a game of touch football.

Pam informs Greg that she is pregnant, and they decide to keep it a secret until they are married. Bernie tells the guests that Greg lost his virginity to the Fockers' former housekeeper, Isabel Villalobos, 15 years earlier. Isabel's 15-year-old son Jorge, who has never met his father and bears a striking resemblance to Greg, catches Jack's attention after he repairs the toilet in the RV. Roz, Bernie and Dina learn that Pam is pregnant, but promise not to tell Jack.

Greg is left alone to babysit Little Jack, who Jack has been raising via the Ferber method. Despite Jack's strict instructions to leave him to self-soothe, Greg is unable to stand listening to Little Jack's cries, and attempts to cheer him up by hugging him and acting humorously, but inadvertently teaches him the word "asshole".

When Greg answers a brief phone call from Roz, Little Jack is let out of the playpen by Jinx. He turns on the TV to Scarface and glues his hands to a bottle of rum, while saying "asshole" repeatedly. This leads to an argument between Jack and the Fockers over each other's parenting methods.

Jack begins spying on Greg, sending both Greg and Jorge's hair samples for a DNA test. He then invites Jorge to Greg and Pam's engagement party in hopes of getting Greg to admit he is Jorge's father. When Greg denies having known about Jorge, Jack does not believe him so drugs him with a shot of truth serum. While giving a toast, Greg uncontrollably blurts out that Pam is pregnant and that Jorge is his son before losing consciousness.

The next morning, Pam questions Greg about Jorge, and he promises that he knew nothing about him before the previous evening. She believes him and is willing to work things out with him. Jack has reached his breaking point, and demands that Pam and Dina leave with him. Dina refuses and reveals that Jack drugged Greg. Everyone turns against Jack and informs him that they were all aware of Pam's pregnancy, but didn't tell him due to his inability to trust people. Shocked and hurt, Jack leaves with his grandson.

Bernie and Greg pursue Jack, but are tasered and arrested by Officer Vern LeFlore for speeding and not remaining in Bernie's car when pulled over. Meanwhile, Jack receives the results of the DNA test; Jorge's father is really a baseball player who also resembles Greg. Jack turns back toward the house. When Jack sees Bernie and Greg being arrested, he attempts to defend them, but LeFlore tasers and arrests him as well.

Greg, Jack and Bernie are released from jail by Judge Ira, a client of Roz's. Before they leave, Greg asks Jack and Bernie to stop their feud. Jack admits he made a mistake regarding Jorge and explains his career in the CIA to Bernie before apologizing for his actions.

Greg and Pam are married that weekend by her former fiancé Kevin, now an ordained interfaith minister. Jack reviews hidden camera footage to find each of the Fockers jeopardizing the Ferber method.

Cast

Production

Twins Spencer and Bradley Pickren were cast as Little Jack. The twins' mother was a pediatric nurse who had taught them sign language from birth, although they had to learn a few additional signs specifically for the movie. [2] As was common in the film industry, the casting of twins in a child role allowed the producers to work within the limitations on how many hours children are allowed to work, and swap in a fresh sibling if one of them unexpectedly became tired or upset. [2] Although the Pickren twins performed exceptionally well on-set most of the time, they were never at ease with actor Ben Stiller after doing the head-butting sequence. Although the head-butt itself was a digitized effect, Stiller had to pretend to be hit by grabbing his face, cursing loudly and smearing fake blood under his nose, all of which was upsetting to the Pickrens. [3]

As part of building the character Roz Focker, the crew consulted sex experts Jennifer and Laura Berman. The Bermans advised them of the difficulty people in their profession face with not exposing their children to too much sexual knowledge too soon, an idea that was worked into the film. [2]

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes reports that 39% of 166 sampled critics give Meet the Fockers positive reviews, with an average rating of 5.20/10. The site's consensus is: "Talented cast is wasted as the movie is content with recycling jokes from its predecessor, Meet the Parents." [4] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100, with reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 41, based on 34 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average rating of "B+" on a scale of A+ to F. [6]

Box office

The film was a commercial success, and is currently the second highest-grossing film starring Robert De Niro, behind Joker . [7] The film grossed $46,120,980 in its opening weekend in North America (5,000 screens at 3,518 theaters, averaging $13,110 per theater, or $9,224 per screen). Overall, it grossed $70.5 million during its first five days of release. [8] [9] The film went on to break The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 's records for both the highest Christmas Day gross and the biggest Tuesday gross, making a total of $19.1 million and $12.6 million, respectively. [10] The film would hold the Tuesday record until 2006, when The Omen surpassed it. [11] Meet the Fockers continued to hold the Christmas Day record until it was beaten by both Avatar and Sherlock Holmes in 2009. [12] It made $12.1 million on New Year's Eve and $18.3 million on New Year's Day, surpassing the previous records held by both Cast Away and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King simultaneously. [10] By the end of the film's 149 days of release, it had grossed a total of $279,261,160 in North America, and $243,396,776 in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $522,657,936, with an estimated 44 million tickets sold in the U.S. The film's budget was $80 million. [13]

Awards and nominations

Sequel

A sequel to the film, titled Little Fockers , was released December 22, 2010.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Stiller</span> American actor, comedian, and filmmaker (born 1965)

Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as the Frat Pack. His films have grossed more than $2.6 billion in Canada and the United States, with an average of $79 million per film. Throughout his career, he has received various awards and honors, including an Emmy Award, a Directors Guild of America Award, a Britannia Award and a Teen Choice Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rene Russo</span> American actress and model (born 1954)

Rene Marie Russo is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as Vogue and Cosmopolitan. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy Major League, and rose to international prominence in a number of thrillers and action films throughout the 1990s, including Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1995), Get Shorty (1995), Ransom (1996), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), and The Thomas Crown Affair (1999).

<i>The Score</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Frank Oz

The Score is a 2001 American heist film directed by Frank Oz, and starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Angela Bassett, and Marlon Brando in his final film role. It was the only time that Brando and De Niro appeared onscreen together. The screenplay was based on a story by Daniel E. Taylor and Kario Salem.

<i>Meet the Parents</i> 2000 film by Jay Roach

Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. It chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents. In addition, Teri Polo stars as Pam Byrnes while Owen Wilson stars as Kevin Rawley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teri Polo</span> American actress (born 1969)

Theresa Elizabeth Polo is an American actress. She starred as Pamela Martha Focker in the Meet the Parents trilogy, Helen Santos in The West Wing, and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster in the Freeform series The Fosters (2013–2018) and its spinoff Good Trouble (2019–2024).

<i>Mr. Mom</i> 1983 American film directed by Stan Dragoti

Mr. Mom is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti and produced by Lynn Loring, Lauren Shuler, and Aaron Spelling. It stars Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Martin Mull, Ann Jillian, and Christopher Lloyd. It tells the story of a furloughed Detroit automotive engineer who becomes a stay-at-home dad and takes care of three young children, as his wife returns to a career in the advertising industry as an executive at a large agency. Released on July 22, 1983, the film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $64 million against its $5 million budget.

<i>Date Movie</i> 2006 American romantic parody film

Date Movie is a 2006 American romantic comedy parody film written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, directed by Seltzer, and produced by Paul Schiff and Friedberg. It was released on February 17, 2006 by 20th Century Fox and stars Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Sophie Monk, Tony Cox, Jennifer Coolidge, Eddie Griffin, and Fred Willard. It is a parody of the romantic comedy film genre, and mostly references My Big Fat Greek Wedding,Meet the Fockers, Hitch, Legally Blonde, and Bridget Jones's Diary. Though reviews for it were more positive than Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer's later films, Date Movie was panned by critics but was a box office success, grossing almost $85 million on a $20 million budget.

<i>Shade</i> (film) 2003 American film

Shade is a 2003 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed and written by Damian Nieman and starring Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandiwe Newton, Jamie Foxx, Melanie Griffith and Sylvester Stallone. The film follows a trio of grifters who attempt to set up a legendary card shark nicknamed "the Dean". The film had a limited release in the United States on May 7, 2004.

<i>True Confessions</i> (film) 1981 crime film directed by Ulu Grosbard

True Confessions is a 1981 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by Ulu Grosbard and starring Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall as the brothers Spellacy, a priest and police detective. Produced by Chartoff-Winkler Productions, it is adapted from the novel of the same name by John Gregory Dunne, loosely based on the Black Dahlia murder case of 1947. Dunne wrote the screenplay with his wife, novelist Joan Didion. The film was released on September 25, 1981, receiving generally positive reviews from critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert De Niro</span> American actor (born 1943)

Robert Anthony De Niro is an American actor and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hamburg</span> American screenwriter and director

John Liman Hamburg is an American screenwriter, film director and producer.

<i>Little Fockers</i> 2010 film by Paul Weitz

Little Fockers is a 2010 American romantic comedy film and the third and final film in the Meet the Parents film series, serving as a sequel to Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004). The film stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand.

<i>Stone</i> (2010 film) 2010 American film

Stone is a 2010 American crime thriller film directed by John Curran, written by Angus MacLachlan, and starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton and Milla Jovovich. Most of the filming was done in Washtenaw County, Michigan. It was the final film to be released by Overture Films. This is the second film in which De Niro and Norton starred together, after The Score (2001).

<i>Meet the Parents</i> (1992 film) 1992 film by Greg Glienna

Meet the Parents is a 1992 American independent comedy film written by Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke. Glienna also directed the film; wrote the original songs "Keep Smiling" and "When Philip's There" ; and starred as protagonist Greg: a young man meeting his fiancée's parents for the first time who sets off a series of accidents and causes the family to fall apart. Emo Philips served as an associate producer, wrote the film's title theme song, and made a cameo as a video store employee.

<i>Meet the Parents</i> (film series) 2000–2010 series of three films

Meet the Parents is a film series following the character Greg Focker as he interacts with his family and in-laws. The series is made up of three movies: Meet the Parents (2000), Meet the Fockers (2004), and Little Fockers (2010). The series primarily stars Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand. The three films earned over $1.15 billion at the box office.

<i>Dirty Grandpa</i> 2016 film by Dan Mazer

Dirty Grandpa is a 2016 American comedy film about a lawyer who drives his grandfather to Florida during spring break. The film was directed by Dan Mazer and written by John Phillips. It stars Robert De Niro and Zac Efron in the leading roles, with Aubrey Plaza, Zoey Deutch, Julianne Hough and Dermot Mulroney in supporting roles. It was filmed on location in Atlanta from January 19 to May 9, 2015.

<i>Licorice Pizza</i> 2021 film by Paul Thomas Anderson

Licorice Pizza is a 2021 American romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in their film debuts, alongside an ensemble supporting cast including Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, and Benny Safdie. Set in 1973, the film follows the relationship between a teen actor (Hoffman) and a directionless young woman (Haim).

<i>About My Father</i> 2023 film by Laura Terruso

About My Father is a 2023 American comedy film directed by Laura Terruso from a screenplay by Sebastian Maniscalco and Austen Earl. The film stars Maniscalco and is loosely based on his life and his relationship with his father, played by Robert De Niro. Leslie Bibb, Anders Holm, David Rasche, and Kim Cattrall co-star in supporting roles.

<i>The Garfield Movie</i> 2024 film by Mark Dindal

The Garfield Movie is a 2024 American animated comedy film based on the comic strip Garfield created by Jim Davis. Directed by Mark Dindal from a screenplay by Paul A. Kaplan, Mark Torgove, and David Reynolds, the film stars Chris Pratt as the voice of the titular character, alongside the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, and Snoop Dogg. In the film, Garfield is reunited with his long-lost father, a street cat named Vic, before being forced into joining him on a high-stakes adventure. It is the sixth Garfield film adaptation and the first since Garfield's Pet Force, which was released fifteen years prior.

References

  1. "Meet the Fockers (2004)". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Roach, Jay; Poll, Jon (2005). Meet the Fockers - Audio Commentary (DVD). Universal Studios. ISBN   1-4170-1825-9.
  3. Meet the Fockers - "The Adventures of a Baby Wrangler" (DVD). Universal Studios. 2005. ISBN   1-4170-1825-9.
  4. "Meet The Fockers (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  5. "Meet the Fockers reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  6. "Home". Cinemascore. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  7. "Robert De Niro Movies Box Office Results". www.boxofficemojo.com. IMDb. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  8. Gentile, Gary (December 31, 2004). "'Fockers' sets record for holiday". The Associated Press. Livingston County Daily Press & Argus. p. 19. Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  9. "Meet the Fockers (2004) - Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo.
  10. 1 2 Gray, Brandon (January 3, 2005). "'Fockers' Meets Christmas Records". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  11. Gray, Brandon (June 7, 2006). "'Omen' Opens to Tuesday Record". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  12. McClintock, Pamela (2009-12-27). "Holiday box office breaks records". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  13. "Meet the Fockers (2004)". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database . Retrieved October 3, 2010.