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Meet the Parents (2000)

★★½ — Meet the Parents (2000)

Meet the Parents is a remake of a low-budget 1992 independent film of the same name, written and directed by Greg Glienna, who co-wrote the screenplay for this version with Mary Ruth Clarke. Jay Roach directed, coming off the back of the Austin Powers films (the first two entries having already made him a reliable comedy hand at Universal), and the studio paired him with a cast that made the project a genuine event: Ben Stiller, then riding the momentum of There's Something About Mary (1998), opposite Robert De Niro in a rare full-commitment comic role. The film opened in October 2000 and became a considerable box office story, eventually earning over 330 million dollars worldwide against a 55 million dollar budget, and spawning two sequels.

Meet the Parents is the kind of comedy that thrives on secondhand embarrassment and relentless bad luck. Classic Ben Stiller territory. He plays a nervous, well-meaning nurse trying to win over his girlfriend’s parents, only for everything to spiral into disaster: and under the ever-watchful, judgmental glare of Robert De Niro as Jack Byrnes, ex-CIA, truth detector enthusiast, and ultimate dad from hell. De Niro is clearly having fun leaning into the role with deadpan intensity, and there are moments, like the lie detector scene or the infamous “circle of trust”, that have become comedy gold. The premise works because we’ve all feared meeting the in-laws, and watching Stiller fail spectacularly is both cringe-worthy and weirdly satisfying. But let’s be honest: it’s lightweight, formulaic, and packed with jokes that rely more on awkward repetition than real wit. Once you get the rhythm it never really deviates. It’s very much “turn your brain off and laugh at the trainwreck,” and while that can be fun, it doesn’t leave much of a mark. Solid for what it is: a silly, predictable, but occasionally funny farce. Pure Ben Stiller. Not groundbreaking, not subtle, but harmless enough when you’re in the mood for pain-by-proxy humour. Just don’t bring a cat.

Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2000 | Watched: 2025-09-21

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Where to watch (UK)

Stream: Paramount Plus · Paramount+ Amazon Channel · Paramount Plus Premium · Paramount Plus Basic with Ads
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK

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