Review - Little Fockers

WTF? Little Fockers Lacks the Little Laughs

Meet the Parents was a nice little film that was not only funny, but it also uniquely told the story of a man meeting his in-laws and struggling to fit in. Meet the Fockers had us meeting the other side of the family and the quirks they possessed. Little Fockers has kids, fraternal twins that are supposed to be the basis for the humor. A problem occurs though, they forgot the humor.

Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) is coming to Greg and Pam’s (Ben Stiller and Terri Polo) house to celebrate the 6th birthday of their two children, and yes he is still watching them. Things have change though…Dr. Bob is splitting from his wife (an affair) Kevin (Owen Wilson) is half way around the world looking to get engaged. And the Fockers (Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman) are apart as Bernie tries to find himself while Roz hosts her sex therapy show.

As Greg is trying to do the best for his family, he takes on a night job as a spokesman for Sustengo (the new erectile dysfunction drug) with his drug rep Andi Garcia (Jessica Alba). So who is watching who, and why, and will this birthday party happen?

This is a hard review to write. Why? I like everyone in this film. In many instances, they have put out a range of films that have generated every emotion within me. But this film had such little emotion that I had to check my pulse when I left.

Sure there are some scenes in here that gave me a chuckle, but there were so many more that felt miserable. It felt miserable all over. I felt bad for the actors. I felt bad for the individual sitting next to me and I felt real uncomfortable for those who mistakenly brought young children to the film.

The movie was supposed to be about the “little” Fockers…but they had what seemed to be small roles in a much bigger movie, so that’s kind of a misnomer.

This film just didn’t work on so many levels. I really don’t want to trash these good people, so I’m not going to. It’s the Christmas season and I will just say, don’t see it. Rent Meet the Parents or buy Meet the Fockers instead either will be a much better selection. Otherwise you may just resort to texting a friend WTF on your way out of the theater.

C- / D+

Little Fockers
Universal Pictures

Director: Paul Weitz
Cast: Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand

Rating: PG-13 for mature sexual humor throughout, language and some drug content.
Runtime: 98 minutes.