Related articles and links |  1 of 5

Editor's note: Don't miss this week's Film Forum Bonus, a look ahead to next week's release of In Good Company, starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace and Scarlett Johansson.

No. 1 at the box office for two straight weeks, director Jay Roach's Meet the Fockers is 2005's first smash hit. Considering the popularity of Roach's Meet the Parents, and taking into account Fockers' all-star cast (Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand, Blythe Danner, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, and Owen Wilson), that's not a big surprise. Nonetheless, the film is faring poorly with critics.

Peter T. Chattaway (Christianity Today Movies) says it is "quite funny, and the crassness is quite tolerable, at first, because the humor is rooted in fairly believable and likable characters." But he argues that the film does not compare favorably to its predecessor. "Meet the Parents was an almost painfully funny comedy. In Meet the Fockers … there are times when the comedy is not that funny, just painful. The humor starts to go beyond mere embarrassment humor and into territory that some might think would be deeply psychologically scarring to the people involved."

Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) laments this misguided sequel. "So much talent. So much potential. So little that makes Meet the Fockers worth two hours of your time. Roach seems obsessed with juvenile gibes and pratfalls, and only offer[s] us a few moments in which we can laugh and not feel guilty. But at least it's a good-natured film about two sets of parents who love their kids and who're learning to love one another—despite their significant differences."

"Despite some brilliant casting and a decent concept this sequel … is a disappointment," says Michael Elliott (Movie Parables). "Whereas the first film was a hilarious comedy of errors … Fockers is full of obvious wordplay, sexual innuendo and crudities inserted into the script as a poor substitute for wit."

Chris Monroe (Christian Spotlight) says, "This sequel is entertaining in some new ways, but it ultimately holds to the same formula as the first. Lots of potential here, but in the end sold a bit short."

"The redeeming quality of the film is the obvious love both sets of parents have for their children," say Denny Wayman and Hal Conklin (Cinema in Focus). But they conclude that the movie "has many painful moments where the humor is based on humiliation and prejudice … [and] the message of the film is shallow in its diagnosis of the problem and its simplistic solution."

Joel Zwick, the director of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, brings another film with "fat" in the title. Fat Albert is a live-action comedy bringing to life characters who originated in Bill Cosby's classic standup routines and went on to become popular cartoon characters. Cosby, who co-wrote the script and acted as executive producer, lends his stamp of approval by appearing briefly in the film.

Critics are undecided as to whether to offer their own stamps of approval.

Steven Isaac (Plugged In) says, "Leave it to Bill Cosby to preserve Fat Albert's innocence and '70s-era Saturday-morning cartoon goofiness and charm. He and … Zwick deserve XXL kudos for refusing to give in to the 'spice-it-up' temptation that has ruined many a cultural update. The lessons here are much simpler and more broadly themed than we've become accustomed to lately. Be kind. Play nice—even in high school. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Believe in yourself. Have good clean fun. By presenting them as gracefully as he does, Cosby … not only gives kids solid values to emulate, he makes us all do some wishful thinking about the days when children's entertainment was (more often than not) children's entertainment."

next page... |  1 of 5

share this page

January (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49