THE REWATCHABLES · November 11, 2024
A 2000 comedy movie directed by Jay Roach—and decision no. 32 in the Hanks–Cruise tape.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
Greg is trapped in the car with Jack while Jack needles him about drugs and the nickname Focker.
About 24 minGreg botches grace, the urn is revealed, and the comedy escalates with the famous nipples line and the cork popping the ashes.
About 24 minGreg is forced into humiliating borrowed clothes, turning him from nervous guest into a visible outsider.
About 32 minGreg meets Pam’s wealthy ex and the whole scene becomes a barrage of bragging, sexual taunts, and athletic humiliation.
About 32 minGreg’s attempt to disguise Jinx and recover the cat is treated as an absurdly dumb but funny mistake.
About 48 minThe hidden-camera and polygraph material turns Greg’s lies into a trap and fuels the paranoia tone.
About 40 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsInitially favors the Puff the Magic Dragon car ride, then changes to the Kevin/volleyball sequence.
Kyle BrandtAgrees the Kevin house and volleyball sequence is the best stretch.
Bill SimmonsSuggests Meet the Parents is on his De Niro favorite-role Mount Rushmore.
Kyle BrandtPrefers other De Niro favorites like Midnight Run, Heat, and Goodfellas, but agrees De Niro is great here.
Bill SimmonsPam is terrible and undermines the movie’s romantic core.
Craig HorlbeckAgrees she is a weak link and says the romance does not fully land.
Kyle BrandtOffers a softer take, suggesting Pam is actually good at sex and that explains the relationship.
Bill SimmonsSays looking down on a male nurse is the most 2000s element.
Craig HorlbeckPoints to the Denny’s room details and little Kim poster as another strong 2000s marker.
Argues the movie is the last major heir to the Three’s Company-style escalation comedy.
Opening minutesSays the film captures the dread and awkwardness of meeting future in-laws with uncanny precision.
About 8 minCalls Stiller the best at awkward, emasculated comedy and one of the great comedy stars of the era.
About 16 minPrefers De Niro’s comic work here to many of his serious classics on a personal favorite basis.
About 16 minArgues the rich-ex-boyfriend sequence is one of the movie’s funniest and most entertaining stretches.
About 32 minSees Pam as the film’s weak link because she undermines Greg, withholds information, and lacks loyalty.
About 48 minSays the script is airtight, contains no fluff, and still feels surprisingly current.
About 1:20Thinks Newman is absurdly celebrated for a singer he regards as mediocre.
About 32 minTreats the dinner scene as the movie’s signature comic crescendo.
About 24 minSays the movie works as a rewatchable because its comedy is so tightly written and largely timeless.
About 1:20The movie captures the fear of impressing a partner’s parents and the performance pressure around family approval.
About 8 minGreg is repeatedly humiliated through clothes, jokes, jobs, and physical mishaps.
About 24 minThe film plays with job shame, rich ex-boyfriends, and whether Greg measures up socially and economically.
About 8 minGrace, sleeping arrangements, and the Burns family’s traditional expectations are part of the tension.
Opening minutesGreg’s early lie snowballs into a larger disaster, which the hosts see as core to the comedy.
About 16 minThe film was originally an indie project from 1992 that Universal bought and later essentially replaced with the studio version.
About 16 minThe title character’s surname was changed to Focker, and the MPAA reportedly required proof that the name existed.
About 1:04Randy Newman’s song 'A Fool in Love' was nominated for an Oscar.
About 32 minThe movie made about $330 million worldwide on a $55 million budget.
About 32 minThe sequel rights and later releases are discussed as major money-makers, including huge video sales.
About 32 minThe cat Jinx was played by two Himalayan cats.
About 1:12Nicole DeHuff, who played the sister, died young in 2005.
About 1:04The film’s home-movie footage of Pam was used to make her more likable after bad test-screening reactions.
About 40 minUsed as the template for scenario-based misunderstanding comedy that spirals and resets.
Opening minutesReferenced as De Niro’s earlier comedy pivot before Meet the Parents.
About 16 minUsed as a benchmark for De Niro’s smoking performance.
About 48 minBill cites Stiller’s Tom Cruise stunt-double parody as one of his funniest bits.
About 16 minUsed as a comparison for the comedy structure of the falling-apart second act.
About 40 minCraig’s main hot take is that Meet the Parents is essentially a horror movie like Get Out with a white boyfriend.
About 56 minUsed to compare De Niro’s defense of cats to Mr. Pink’s no-tipping argument.
About 56 minMentioned as a reference point for Christopher Walken as a possible Jack Burns casting choice.
About 56 minCited as an older in-laws comedy classic that some older viewers might prefer.
About 1:04Used in the discussion of cats and creepy animal behavior.
About 1:04Used to identify Floyd Gondolli as a classic Dion Waiters-type supporting turn.
About 1:04Mentioned as an example of a modern movie that feels too long compared with old comedies.
About 1:20Bill and Kyle keep comparing the movie to older sitcom-style misunderstanding comedies and family awkwardness.
Opening minutesPersonal stories about meeting partners’ parents are interwoven throughout the episode.
Opening minutesBill repeatedly jokes that Newman is overpraised despite being hugely successful.
About 32 minThe hosts keep awarding or discussing unexpected scene-stealing supporting turns.
About 16 minBill and Kyle discuss how awkwardly Stiller smokes onscreen and how smoking is used as a character signal.
About 48 minThey repeatedly return to Pam as the source of the movie’s romantic dysfunction.
About 48 minBill and Kyle riff on De Niro being a great actor but a rough junket or hang.
About 1:04“I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?”About 24 min
“The Michael Jordan of emasculated comedy actors.”About 16 min
“Dogs are emotionally shallow animals.”About 40 min
“It’s like the McRib of movies.”About 16 min
“Meet the Parents is a horror movie.”About 56 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Meet The Parents, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 ties
Kyle Brandt20 tracked appearances · 7 H / 13 CCATEGORY CONTEXT
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