Streisand a Fabulous Focker

Gaylord ‘Greg’ Focker (Ben Stiller) thought meeting the parents was hard, but that adventure was nothing compared to what’s coming next. With only six months to go until his wedding to the lovely Pam (Teri Polo), he’s got to finally bite the bullet and introduce her parents Jack (Robert DeNiro) and Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner) to his own relatives.

And, really, that’s the last thing on earth Greg wants to do. Putting the uptight (and ex-CIA agent) Jack in the same room with his sex therapist mother Roz (Barbara Streisand) and mensch-like Mr. Mom dad Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) feels like recipe for disaster, one that could very well derail the marriage. But, what must be done must be done, and Greg packs himself into the Byrne family Winnebago for the long trek to Florida and the Focker family abode.

As it turns out, this family get-together proceeds to be every bit the catastrophe Greg was afraid of. From differing parenting styles to competing views on competition, Jack and particularly Bernie find themselves at odds almost from the very beginning. Mix in revelations about Greg’s first time with the family’s Cuban housekeeper (a bizarrely miscast Alanna Ubach) and the possibility of an illegitimate Focker running around and Jack’s more than ready to pack up his family and head back up the coast with Gaylord as far outside of the circle of trust as humanly possible.

Welcome to Meet the Fockers, the long-gestating sequel to 2000’s hit high-concept comedy sensation Meet the Parents. The original was an over-long hodgepodge of the uncomfortably humorous and the laugh-out-loud gross-out, and while it couldn’t manage to sustain itself, it was still a relatively innocuous good time. In all honesty, on most levels the sequel is even better. It maintains its humor remarkably well, the gifted cast of superstars playing off one another with surprising ease and resilience. And, while the belly laughs of the first are noticeably not present, this one doesn’t wear out its welcome quite as quickly as that one did.

Still, some of it didn’t sit in my craw particularly well. The subplot concerning the potential of Greg having an unknown son starts out promisingly enough, but quickly descends into a montage of distasteful side jokes and accusations that made my stomach churn. The movie’s turgid final ten minutes are also a chore, returning director Jay Roach and his cadre of writers running completely out of ideas as to how to bring things to a satisfying conclusion. Then there is the sight of a toddler with his hands glued to a bottle of rum, a sight to disturbing to even comment on.

Well, okay, that last one IS a bit funny, even just as a throwaway sight gag, and in a movie filled to the gills with them it’s one of the best (even if it did make my skin crawl at the same time). If anything, the first 80% or so of Meet the Fockers is so consistently amusing, so giggly entertaining, it almost feels a shame to point out the more distasteful or obnoxious aspects (Owen Wilson, one of the best things in the original, returns for a cameo that’s about as amusing as a peppered boil). But that’s the way these things go, and I wouldn’t feel good about trumpeting the good if I didn’t at least speak up a little about the bad.

But boy is that good effective. This has got to be one of the greatest casts ever assembled for a lightweight lowbrow comedy. Hoffman and DeNiro, already having showcased what a splendiferous comedic team they are in Wag the Dog, have the time of their lives playing against one another here. Stiller and Polo retain their chemistry from the first, and even if the former is getting a bit tired doing this shtick (it’s his sixth movie this year) he still finds a moment or two of true goofy brilliance that’s wondrous. Even Danner gets more into the act this time around, Roach and company giving the talented and underutilized character actress far more depth and human frailty than she was remotely allowed to the first time.

It is Streisand, however, who is the true wonder. Appearing in her first movie in eight years, her first comedy in 13 years and her first co-starring role, well, ever, the legendary diva of all mediums sparkles like there’s no tomorrow. Spirited and jovial, stern and matronly, sexy and seductive, her Roz is the emotional heart and soul of the picture. Whether dolling out sexual advice to a lovelorn Dina or bounding over Jack like a jockey during a massage session, Streisand throws every ounce of herself into the role and the picture comes alive because of it. Now, I’ve not been a huge fan of the Babs in recent years, particularly hard on her adaptation of The Prince of Tides, but all that is forgotten by her dynamic performance here. She’s wonderful, and like a Jewish Mary Poppins practically perfect in every way.

I can’t say the same about the movie. As stated before, it runs out of steam and ideas well before the climax and as storylines go, this one is as threadbare as they come. But, it is funny, much more consistently so than the original, and any movie that can make Streisand such a pleasure rates okay in my book. That might not be the highest recommendation I’ve ever given but in the case of Meet the Fockers, that and maybe a handshake is about the best they’re going to get.

Film Rating: êê1/2  (out of 4)