The universe does not greatly benefit from the addition of a third film to the Meet The Parents franchise, especially since the joke it’s proudest of – the name Focker sounding a bit rude – stopped getting laughs ten minutes into the first movie. The premise was wrung dry in the last two entries, so this falls back on sit-com favourites like the innocent flirtation mistaken for an incipient affair and children puking on grown-ups. Not to mention a four year-old surprising his Dad giving his grandad a penile injection to counter the effects of an unwisely-taken erectile dysfunction medication and then drawing a picture of the incident while auditioning for a posh kindergarten. It seems that uptight Jack is finally ready to trust his son-in-law, and bestows the position of ‘Godfocker’ on him, but as a crowded supporting cast pop in for cameos, the family threatens to melt down several more times.
When De Niro and Harvey Keitel argue about building work, it’s impossible not to remember the pair used to make films like Mean Streets, but are now coasting through in-flight pap like this. Seriously, when was the last time Robert DeNiro – officially the best screen actor of his generation – made a film anyone could care about? Indeed, everyone here – including Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Blythe Danner, Barbra Streisand, Laura Dern and Deepak Chopra (!) – really ought to find something better to do.
