Little Fockers – A Universal Pictures’ Release
Release Date: December 22nd
Rated PG for language may offend, not recommended for young children
Running time: 98 minutes
Paul Weitz (dir.)
John Hamburg (writer)
Larry Stuckey (writer)
Based on characters created by Greg Glienna & Mary Ruth Clarke
Stephen Trask (music)
Robert De Niro as Jack Byrnes
Ben Stiller as Greg Focker
Owen Wilson as Kevin Rawley
Dustin Hoffman as Bernie Focker
Barbra Streisand as Roz Focker
Blythe Danner as Dina Byrnes
Teri Polo as Pam Focker
Jessica Alba as Andi Garcia
©Universal Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) in Little Fockers
Our reviews below:
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Little Fockers Review By John C.
** (out of 4)
In 2000, we got Meet the Parents, a fresh and original comedy centred around the awkwardness that can come when meeting the family of your significant other. In 2004, the excellent cast returned in the broader, but still entertaining Meet the Fockers. The latest in the series, Little Fockers, sees the return of the original cast, but it is also by far the weakest of the three movies.
Greg & Pam Focker (Ben Stiller & Teri Polo) now have two kids of their own, but still have to deal with both sets of eccentric parents. Greg’s mother, Roz Focker (Barbara Streisand), now has her own daytime talk show to help couples with their sexual problems, and his father, Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) is currently going through a mid-life crisis caused by “manopause.” The problem is, although Greg has long since gained the approval of his step-mother Dina (Blyth Danner), he is still under the watchful eye of her ex-CIA husband, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro).
There are some laughs in Little Fockers, mainly due to the interplay between the talented original cast, which includes the welcome return of Owen Wilson in a side role, but the problem is that it just isn’t anywhere near as funny as it could or should have been. A lot of the jokes, like a blood-splattering attempt at carving a turkey or a moment of projectile vomiting, induce cringes instead of laughs. A scene where Greg must inject Jack with the antidote to erection medication is perhaps the most embarrassing moment of De Niro’s career. It’s actually one of the more serviceable gross-out gags, until Greg’s son walks in.
Aside from that, there are some okay moments here, but Little Fockers is still a disappointment. The scenes with the title kids simply didn’t work for me. A lot of the story is centred around the 5th birthday of twins Samantha & Henry (Daisy Tahan & Colin Baiocchi). The biggest problem is that they look too far apart in age to be believable as twins, and any attempts at character development for the two cute kids seems contrived or cliché.
The funniest stuff comes over the last few scenes, climaxing with a hilarious remix over the end credits – which is by far the best thing in the movie. Although this is a very uneven comedy and the weakest of the series, it could be worth a look for fans who want to see these characters back on the big screen. But still, everyone else should just rent the original.
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Little Fockers Review By Erin V.
**1/2 (out of 4)
The sequel to Meet The Parents and Meet The Fockers is here. Little Fockers now shows Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam Focker (Teri Polo) with their family of four. They are preparing for their twins’ 5-year-old birthday party, (by the way, the kids here look 4 and 7 – which begs the question of why make them twins – they still could have had birthdays near each other…) This means that their parents/in-laws will be coming to stay, and like in the other films, Pam’s father, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), is wildly suspicious of Greg and a lot of the central plot revolves around this.
Watching Little Fockers is kind of like watching a TV show, in the sense that by this time around, it is not really that original, but you check out the next episode because you enjoy spending ‘x’ amount of time with the characters you know and like. I didn’t really mind the rehashing of plots – it was actually when they tried to bring in the new ‘edge’ with the eccentric kids that it kinda fell flat for me. A lot of the humour surrounding the kid storylines isn’t the greatest, often of the gross-out variety. This being said, despite the title of the film, by the midpoint, it is thankfully more focused back towards the adults.
Although it’s not quite as good, I found for the most part, Little Fockers keeps in the same vein as the previous two. If you enjoy the humour and chemistry between the leads, this is not the worst one to sit through this holiday season. And stay for the beginning of the end credits…
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Little Fockers Review By Nicole
**1/2 (out of 4)
The Focker family is back, in this third installment in the Meet the Parents trilogy. Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo) now have twins, Sam and Henry. Their fifth birthday is coming up and their parents are coming, which means more suspicion, bickering and love will come with them. Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) is still suspicious of son-in-law Greg, who is now selling a new E.D. drug with a pretty female nurse, Andi (Jessica Alba). Pam’s ex-boyfriend Kevin (Owen Wilson) is back trying to create the perfect birthday party, which only annoys Greg. All the characters return to their original, funny roles.
At first, I wasn’t sure that Little Fockers would be that good, considering that the trailer only shows the worst parts. But overall, this one holds up to the previous films. It has a wholesome message about family values and not giving up on a marriage. This is a sweet and funny movie that is worth seeing.
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Little Fockers Review By Maureen
**1/2 (out of 4)
There’s nothing like children for getting the family together. The Focker and Byrnes clans are together again in Little Fockers, this time to celebrate the fifth brithday of little Focker twins, Samantha (Daisy Tahan) and Henry (Colin Baiocchi). Once I got past the annoyance that these two didn’t look to be anywhere near the same age, I enjoyed spending time with the core cast from the first two movies.
Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) are still getting under each other’s skin. Greg is still working in the nursing field but has an opportunity to increase his income promoting a new ED drug safe for heart patients. Grandpa Jack has a heart condition and is supposed to stay relaxed but his suspicion that Greg may be cheating with the pretty pharmaceutical rep, Andi (Jessica Alba), has got him stressed out. Since Greg has been working so hard his wife Pam (Teri Polo) has to rely on her ex-lover and trusted friend, Kevin (Owen Wilson) to help organize the birthday party. Of course both Grandma Dina Byrnes (Blyth Danner) and Grandma Roz Focker (Barbara Streissand) are also there to help. Grandpa Focker (Dustin Hoffman) arrives just in time to make the party.
There are some really funny scenes between the core characters. The chemistry is still there. The funniest moments for me were the scenes with laid back, spiritually enlightened Kevin. But Little Fockers could have done without a couple of the gross-out gags and been a whole lot more pleasant to watch.
Still, re-visiting the Fockers and Brynes was fun, and it wouldn’t be surprising if there were a fourth installment in the works. Stay through the end credits for a hilarious re-mix of earlier scenes.
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Little Fockers Review By Tony
**1/2 (out of 4)
Little Fockers, third in the series beginning with Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, brings back the original cast, along with Jessica Alba, Laura Dern and a couple of kids in the title roles. Despite the title, the little ones play only a minor role, just as well since they don’t add much aside from plot points and an excuse for a couple of grossout gags that are fortunately soon over. Moreover, the boy seems too young and the girl too old to be five year old twins.
Otherwise, everyone gets to play out their parts as well as can be expected, so Little Fockers is really not bad for a threequel. It’s not quite as good as the first two films but has a lot of laughs centring around new threats to Greg’s position in Jack’s circle of trust, right down to the closing credits where once again Jack stumbles across a video clip of Greg dissing him– the funniest one yet.
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Consensus: Although there is some funny stuff in Little Fockers, it is ultimately an uneven comedy, and the weakest entry into the popular series. Still, fans of the superior first two will likely enjoy seeing these characters back on the big screen. **1/2 (Out of 4)
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