Meet The Parents (HD-DVD)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: C Film: C
I am no
fan of Ben Stiller and was not a big fan of Jay Roach’s Meet The Parents, but it was a big hit, enough so to have a big hit
sequel (Meet The Fockers) and is one
of the few Stiller films that is actually watchable. He plays Greg Focker, a man in love with the
beautiful Pam (Teri Polo), but first he must survive meeting her mother and
father. Too bad her father (Robert
DeNiro) is an ex-CIA agent who is (too say the least) paranoid and
inappropriate, including in crew comments and actions. Blythe Danner is the mother.
It may
not be a one-joke comedy, but it is a few-joke comedy. It is conservative vs. liberal, Stiller being
inept again and lets not forget the killer cat.
Some people found this to be hilarious and if you let go and can get
into the type of humor, I guess it could be lots of laughs. However, this critic never could and is not
alone in this. It is not that the comedy
is so unique, but that it is not. I always
have the feeling of having seen this all before, as if it were an upscale
sitcom. But for those HD-DVD fans who
loved it, there should be no problem in rewatchability.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is not bad and better than DVD, but not
stunning in any way and actually is one of a small handful of titles from
Universal to already appear in the defunct D-VHS format. That master is likely used here and it is
just fine for a comedy like this. The
Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 mix is also above what you would get from standard
Dolby, though the surrounds favor the Randy Newman score. The combination is passable for HD and should
not cause anyone to have any major complaints.
Extras
include full length audio commentary by: director Jay Roach & editor Jon
Poll, 35 never-before-seen outtakes, Deleted scenes including DeNiro Unplugged, Silly Cat Tricks featurette, The
Truth About Lying polygraph featurette, director profile and original
outtakes, repeating that of the widescreen DVD.
- Nicholas Sheffo
