| 
Preview by: Jack Foley
IT’S been something of a prolific year for Ben Stiller,
what with the triple success of Along
Came Polly, Starsky and Hutch
and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
But the year will be rounded off with yet another comedy outing,
in the eagerly-anticipated form of his Meet
the Parents sequel, Meet the Fockers.
The film continues to follow the misfortunes of male nurse, Greg
Focker, as he bids to make the right impression with his prospective
in-laws (Robert De Niro and Blythe Danner), for the sake of his
fiancee, Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo).
The first film chronicled Greg’s awkward first meeting
with the Byrnes, and became a surprise smash-hit in America, while
the sequel finds De Niro and co having to meet Greg’s parents,
played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
It looks set to become one of this year’s big Christmas
releases, in the absence of any Lord
of the Rings movies, or young
wizards.
Returning director, Jay Roach, is confident that the movie will
be as big a success, particularly given the chemistry between
Hoffman and Streisand, which Roach compares to Spencer Tracy and
Katharine Hepburn.
|
 |
"Dustin and Barbra should have
been a comedy team," said Roach, in a recent interview with
USA Today. "They have great comic timing. They could have
done vaudeville, or I Love Lucy, or even Tracy-Hepburn stuff."
According to the same report, the confidence, on-set, was such
that Streisand was even able to suggest some great comic additions
to certain scenes, including a particularly embarrassing moment
during a first cocktail evening.
Roach explains that while Hoffman is giving a toast, Streisand
takes a sip, and is lambasted for jumping the gun - upon which
she promptly spits out the drink, complete with the ice cube to
boot.
It sets the standard for the rest of the weekend and gives De
Niro’s uptight Jack Byrnes every reason he needs to find
fault with his future in-laws.
The sequel has been a long-held ambition for Stiller, ever since
the success of the original, which amassed $166 million in the
US.
However, the actor remained determined to cast both Hoffman and
Streisand in the role of his parents, and held out until he had
secured both signatures.
The result, from its trailer alone, suggests that the comedian
has struck Box Office gold again. |
