Little Fockers

What the Fock?

[Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba]

image from boxofficebuz.com

RANT: My housemate wanted to go see Little Fockers. So we went together. Unfortunately, her and I have very different opinions on what we thought of the movie. I guess if everyone had the same opinion about films, we would not have a need for critics!

SYNOPSIS: The Fockers plan for a get-together for the birthday of their 5-year old twins. When Jack Byrnes wants to appoint Greg the successor as the new family patriarch, Greg finds himself buckling under the weight of the responsibility.

Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and gang return for the third installment of the Gaylord Greg Focker experience. Early trailers did not show Dustin Hoffman, which worried me, but he and Barbra do come back to fill out the Focker parents Bernie and Roz. Teri Polo and Blythe Danner make up the Byrnes legacy of Pam and her mother Dina, along with De Niro's Jack. And Owen Wilson returns as Kevin to yet again pine away for Pam. Even Jinxes the cat make a couple of cameos. Joining in on the fun is Jessica Alba as a pharmaceutical rep, Andi Garcia, with big plans for Greg and his career.

Although director Paul Weitz replaced two time Focker director Jay Roach, the actors and their characters are developed enough that nothing seems amiss as they return to the Focker world. Jack is still as paranoid and distrustful as ever, regardless of the success that Greg has made for Pam and his 5 year old twins. And as always, the Byrnes women stick by their men, knowing what makes them tick. Alba's Andi and Wilson's Kevin play the wild cards, somehow causing Jack to make much ado about nothing.

The situations in this outing are not as outlandish as those in Meet the Parents or Meet the Fockers, but as the franchise matures, so does the subject matter. Even though Jack and Greg continue to face off, it is more about the legacy and family that a man leaves behind and less about the two of them squaring off. Both are the rocks of their families, just in different ways. There are a couple great moments - one involving a children's ball pit and Jaws music, another with Jessica Alba taking a swan dive into a excavated backyard pit, and a third with some erectile dysfunction medication and an epi syringe.

If you enjoyed Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, you will be interested in how far the Byrnes and Fockers have come with the Little Fockers. But although I laughed out loud more than once, the latest effort still may not live up to the original or the sequel for some.

Worth: Matinee or Netflix

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