Roach Meets 'The Parents' Again
Director Says We'll 'Meet The Fockers' In The Sequel
Although I knew it was probably a question that most everybody has asked of him, I couldn't help but wonder what happened to director Jay Roach when he had to "Meet the Parents" of his future wife. After all, his movie poses a scenario that most people in relationships can relate to. It's a terrifying experience.
Roach's experience, needless to say, was no different.
"My father-in-law is a psychoanalyst, so I was terrified of meeting him and overcompensated in every possible way," said Roach, who's married to singer-songwriter Susanna Hoffs. "I did that mostly because I pre-visualized disaster and I was trying to prevent it."
New on video and DVD Tuesday, "Meet the Parents" stars Ben Stiller as Greg, who meets his girlfriend Pam's (Teri Polo) parents, Jack and Dina Byrnes (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner), for the first time at a weekend stay at the Byrnes family home.
However, the meeting involves a bit more than the usual get-to-know-you chitchat: Greg wants to ask Jack for his daughter's hand in marriage. But instead of some standard grilling, Greg is subject to interrogation. You see, Jack used to be CIA operative and, among other things, has a lie-detector machine stored in his basement bunker.
Having Stiller in the role of Greg is something that Roach immediately envisioned the moment he read the script.
"He's so earnest and sincere (in real life), but when he plays these characters he's got a way of projecting this neurotic awareness of his own deficiencies and inadequacies, but is always trying to hurry up and cover," described Roach. "I always fall for it because I so relate with him myself because that's the way I feel I go through life. I'm terrified and trying to act like I know what I'm doing. I really identify with Ben-- he's an alter ego of mine."
Roach added that he also has those feelings when he's directing, too -- an amazing, revelation considering that Roach also helmed the ultra-successful "Austin Powers" films.
"It's like when you show up at a meeting with Robert De Niro, and you feel like you don't know what's going on and don't deserve to direct him," Roach said. "You feel over-prepared and try to make jokes, but you feel totally awkward and terrified. That's pretty much every day of my life as a director."
'You Talkin' To Me?'
Perhaps the biggest misconception about the blockbuster comedy is that it is a comic coming-of-age of a traditionally serious actor in Robert De Niro. People's memories are short, obviously, since "Analyze This" came out in 1999, but true fans of the actor know that his penchant for comedy dates back at least to 1986, with the bounty-hunter laughfest, "Midnight Run."
Roach said though, if you look deeper, the laughs in his work go back to the beginning of his career.
"I'm always surprised with journalists who say, 'What's up with De Niro ? he's a comic all of a sudden?' Even 'Taxi Driver' had some really dark comedy moments," Roach said. "There's the famous line, 'Who ya talkin' to -- You talkin' to me?' There's so much comedy in almost everything he's done -- maybe not so much in 'Awakenings' or 'Flawless,' but I've always seen him as having great comic timing."
In "Meet the Parents," De Niro played his comedy straight -- when he could control himself, that is.
"He was always laughing at Ben and (co-star) Owen (Wilson) when they were together in the kitchen scene," Roach recalled. "It was just hard to get through the day sometimes because they were laughing so much. I try to encourage that and keep some of the takes where they are about to break because I find them interesting."
Fortunately, Roach also kept some of the outtakes for DVD. In addition to a clever lie detector test and forecaster games that gauges your success with your in-laws, the disc has for DeNiro fans a realization of a lifelong dream: We get to see the man get the giggles, and often times Roach was responsible for it.
"It was such a great time ? I loved making him laugh and seeing him losing it and not being able to get back on track," Roach said. "There were times that instead of saying 'cut,' I'd say 'keep it rolling' and that's why we got so much footage. It was hilarious."
Using The F-Word
Of course, one of the running jokes in the film comes at the expense of Stiller's character Greg, whose last name is Focker (Greg isn't his real first name, but I won't reveal that joke here). There's no question it looks and sound like the f-word, which wouldn't be a problem for an "R" rated film.
But for a "PG-13" film, where the f-word is generally not allowed more than twice, the use of the name "Focker" presented an interesting situation for Roach in front of the motion picture ratings board.
"We were a little worried about it," recalled Roach. "The first shot over the bow was that they wouldn't let us use it in the green-band trailer. I was like, 'Really? Because we hear them spell it out and what he worked for the airline company in Germany ? Focker? Would you say I couldn't use it then?' I tried to use any reasoning I could. They ended up putting it into one TV spot and ended up pronouncing it (with a long 'O') 'Focker.'"
In the movie, though, it sounds as it is spelled, and Roach had a field day using it.
"We stuck it in as many times as we possibly could," Roach mused. "It's just funny. It's one of those great things were it could be obscene, but it really isn't. Everyone loved the cheekiness of walking that line. Even the people who would maybe be offended by a lot of f-word language seemed to find it enjoyable."
And if you still couldn't get enough of it, Roach enlightened me on how the name may carry on.
"The title of the film if we do a sequel will be 'Meet the Fockers' --which is something I came up with," Roach said. "I never got tired of hearing it in the film. It always made me laugh."
Meeting The 'Fockers' And 'Austin 3'
With the smashing successes of both "Meet the Parents" and "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" right out of the gate, there's no question the films are ripe for sequels.
Roach is keen to both ideas, but is approaching it all with caution. As for the "Parents" sequel, he wasn't kidding: It will indeed be called 'Meet The Fockers.'
"We're cooking up a story based on an idea where Robert De Niro's family has to go and meet Ben Stiller's family," Roach told me. "It will be Ben's problem to try to be the diplomat between two completely different types of people. We'll play Ben's parents as urban, intellectual and left-wing people, and Bob as the conservative, old cold-warrior with his bubbly wife. We're just starting the script and we don't know when it will go ahead. It's all about having a great script first"
The script is also of the essence of "Austin Powers 3," a groovy project that star Mike Myers just signed on for.
"We're a little further along with that (than 'Meet the Fockers), and we're trying to figure out if we can do it for a summer 2002 release, which would mean doing it pretty soon," Roach said. "Mike has some hilarious ideas for 'Austin 3' and we always said that we don't want to keep on doing them unless we can top ourselves each time.
"I think we'll never be able to top the world-wide popularity of the second one, but if we can top ourselves conceptually and comedically, we'll be very happy."
New In Theatres
'The Mexican' (R)
Traveling south of the border with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts for a little scenic comic romance sounds about as pleasing as a nasty case of turista at first blush. The two megastars threaten to turn anything they do into a flashy self-aggrandizing vehicle -- almost as rooster-proud as the rented El Camino Pitt's character drives in "The Mexican."
But the filmmakers (director Gore Verbinski working from a wild, sometimes funny script by J. H. Wyman) seem to have acknowledged the Pitt-Roberts superstar factor going in. They created a smallish, crazy, picaresque crime caper to insert them into, dumbed and dressed down their characters a few notches, and rendered the whole film with about as much gloss as a ragged low-budget flick from 1973.
"The Mexican" follows Jerry Welbach (Pitt) as he tries to wrap up one last job for a mob boss he crossed years ago. Against the psychobabble-strewn ultimatums of his desperate-to-go-straight girlfriend Samantha (Roberts), he agrees to collect a legendary pistol ? the "Mexican" of the title -- from over the southern boundary.
Once he tracks down the valuable gun, his journey home becomes a byzantine nightmare of screw-ups and mayhem, like "Snatch" set in seedy Mexican villages. Meanwhile, Samantha's been kidnapped by a hit man to ensure that Jerry brings back the gun, spurring an unlikely bond between her and the big, gruff and homosexual bear who's keeping watch over her (James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos").
There's so much stuffed into the plot, in fact, that "The Mexican" sometimes feels like an old "Keystone Kops" movie put in a blender with a bunch of Mexican magical-realist novels. The film dances wildly from gritty crime scenes to quirky romantic comedy bits to, get this, silent-film sequences in which various versions of the "curse" of the pistol are retold.
There's a lot going on, all of it seemingly designed to distract from the possibility that Pitt and Roberts might overwhelm the tale with their star wattage. Both actors seem to enjoy rollicking around and laying low, but they don't exactly spend this quality time developing complex characters.
The film offers some funny moments and bits of quirky inventiveness. But the whirl of styles, contrivances and devices to make us think that this is not just a Brad-and-Julia star vehicle eventually makes the movie lose its way.
Go along for the ride... but watch out for the bumps along this dusty desert road, gringos. There are plenty of them. --Joseph Ruttle
Also New (Preview) 'See Spot Run' (PG)
An FBI dog hides from the mob with an offbeat mailman (David Arquette) who is caring for his neighbor's six-year-old son (Angus T. Jones) in "See Spot Run," a screwball comedy from director David Whitesell (TV's "Providence," "The Cosby Mysteries"). Although it is billed as a family fare, the film is rated PG for crude humor (involving doggy doo and flatulence). Michael Clarke Duncan ("The Green Mile") and Paul Sorvino ("Goodfellas") co-star.
Chock full of smart dialogue, unforeseen twists and a fascinating narrative, perhaps "The Contender's" greatest strength lies in its casting. Led by brilliantly subtle performances by Allen, Gary Oldman (as a hack confirmation committee chair) and Jeff Bridges (as the President), self-confessed political junkie Lurie smartly utilized a wonderful set of character actors (William Petersen, Christian Slater and Sam Elliot) that have the ability to absorb themselves into their roles, rather than employ off-screen "personalities" that bring unwanted distractions to the proceedings. Although the movie drew ire when in theaters for its liberal slant, in the end, the film really takes a crack at both parties. The outcome only makes it seem like it's taking sides. Wrought with a feel of real-life political intrigue, "The Contender" is intelligent, timely, and easily one of the best movies of 2000.
DVD Features: While the commentary track of "The Contender" (featuring Lurie and Allen) is no doubt insightful (trivia hounds take note: Paul Newman was Lurie's first choice for the President, and Oldman fan Robert Redford didn't recognize the actor in the role of Runyon), perhaps the best feature on the disc is the "The Making of a Political Thriller," the documentary that accompanies it. Instead of being another run-of-the-mill promotional puff piece, the documentary delves deeply not only into the film's narrative, but into Lurie's passion for political movies as well. It examines the works of two of Lurie's political filmmaking inspirations, the late Alan J. Pakula ("All the President's Men") and John Frankenheimer("The Manchurian Candidate"), who is also interviewed for the documentary. Other features include deleted scenes and cast and crew biographies. --Tim Lammers
'Meet The Parents' (PG-13)
De Niro stars as every guy's worst nightmare: A father who's makes his daughter's suitor's life a living hell. He plays Jack Byrnes, an ex-CIA operative who utilizes his job skills to interrogate Greg Focker (Stiller), a male nurse that seeks Byrnes' daughters' (Teri Polo) hand in marriage. Thrown by Byrne's eccentric behavior, Focker tries to over-compensate with good behavior in every imaginable way, but it spirals out of control at every single turn. Backed by several memorable turns (Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, James Rebhorn and Polo), De Niro and Stiller display a perfect dynamic in "Meet the Parents." De Niro is the ultimate straight man, while Stiller is hilarious as the perpetual screw-up. Impatient viewers may be tested by the film's slapstick, but the frustration level never gets to the point of being overbearing.
DVD Features: The DVD version of "Meet the Parents" is loaded with special features, but without question the funniest part it all are two interactive segments: The Lie Detector Test and the Forecaster Game. If you don't want to be forced to sit and think how you out-smart your future in-laws, then you'll likely get the giggles watching the outtakes where De Niro getting the giggles -- which may be a first for mass audiences. In addition, the disc has a set of deleted scenes, cast and crew biographies. a behind the scenes documentary, and two sets of commentary tracks. The first features director Jay Roach and Editor Jon Poll, while the second showcases Roach, De Niro, Ben Stiller and producer Jane Rosenthal. --Tim Lammers
Catch up with Tim Lammers on these recent @ The Movies interviews:
New On Video
'The Contender' (R)
As a former Los Angeles-based film critic, it's apparent that writer-director Rod Lurie took everything he saw wrong about films and made it right with the political thriller, "The Contender." A finely crafted piece of filmmaking about a Vice Presidential candidate (Joan Allen) who refuses to answer questions about her morally ambiguous past before a congressional confirmation committee, the film is easily this year's answer to the top thriller of 1999, "The Insider."
If you've been through it before, then those fearful moments where you met your girlfriend's parents for the first time (or if you woman in the middle of it all), it will all come throttling back with in the form of Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in "Meet the Parents" -- a brutally funny comedy from director Jay Roach.
