Review of Meet the Parents (Widescreen Special Edition)

Introduction

With the arrival of a much heralded sequel the original film has been re-released in a bonus edition with all new `bits`.

The story revolves around a series of misunderstandings and pratfalls as male nurse Greg Focker(Stiller) gets to meet his prospective in-laws.

Their first meeting comes just after Greg has failed to ask Pam to marry him and they are to attend her sister`s wedding. Greg kow he has to get on the right side of Pam`s Dad a retired "horticulturist" before he can pop the question.

Unfortunately he doesn`t start off on the right note with with the paranoid Jack who is actually retired CIA and keeps a lie detector handily in the basement.

Worse is to come with when Greg meets the near perfect ex-boyfriend, Kevin (Owen Wilson) of his girlfriend. This guy is so cool and talented that Greg cannot see why Pam(Teri Polo) would chose him. An over enthusastic response in a water polo game leadds to the bride-to-be getting a black eye and the wedding`s tomrrow. Thiings couldn`t get any worse...

Until the beloved family cat disappears and in his desire to be loved and approved off Greg decides to embellish his tales until Jack is convinced there is something seriously wrong with him.

Video

Presented on widescreen; for some reason Region One are still producing two versions of films.The picture is clear with no obvious defects.

Audio

There are no problems with the sound.

Features

This is a double-dip with the original bonus features supplemented by some additional outtakes and a couple of featurettes.

Director`s commentary from Jay Roach with editor Jon Poll

Sometimes there is a director`s commentary that really grabs me and makes me appreciate the film a little more This isn`t one of them, it is quite chatty but I like trying to eat an elephant couldn`t manage a whole one. Roach tells us how talented De Niro is etc etc but he managed to do it over scenes that felt like a comedy void had opened up and swallowed the plot.

All-new outtakes

There are 35 of these and not one would have any bearing on my opinion of the film.

Deleted scenes with commentary.

Nothing to get excited about here.

A deleted scene of Robert De Niro singing "Love is in the Air".

Billed as the funniest scene ever("uproariously funny") and not included in the film. So if its that good (it isn`t) then why not put it in the film?

The Truth About Lying -A polygraph expert reveals the eye-opening truth about detecting deception.

Again not exactly the up-to the minute Horizon investigation we are lead to believe by the packaging.

Silly Cat Tricks - - The film`s animal wrangler reveals how she trained Jinx the cat for his on-screen antics and shows viewers how to teach their own felines some wild and crazy tricks.

I don`t have a cat and the idea of teaching one to pee on my mother`s ashes somehow doesn`t grab me.

Jay Roach: A Director`s Profile.

Erm a very short montage of pictures with some non-sequential dialogue is about all I can say-pointless.

Conclusion

Popcorn fare, nothing wrong with it but this is a forgettable film with little in it that would make me rush out and see the sequel. One or two comic set pieces particularly a spectacular fiery destruction of the garden lead me to admire the ingenuity and inventiveness of the special effects department, however.

Much of the comedy revolving around misunderstandings failed to involve me as a viewer and I find Stiller`s hang dog expression irritating a lot of the time. Nobody behaves like this in real life(yes I know the difference but...). Most of the time the film thinks it is being clever and witty when it isn`t.

If you enjoy slapstick and cats that can pee in the toilet( and maybe even flush) then then this is your film; enjoy.