Rated PG-13 for mature sexual humor throughout, language and some drug content, 91 minutes
Don't bother with dreadfully unfunny sequel "Little Fockers"
Hollywood has a way of taking ideas and running them into the ground, and this has never been more annoyingly apparent with the dreadful new sequel "Little Fockers," the third (and by far worst) movie in the tired "Meet the Parents" franchise. There's not anything remotely funny about "Fockers," which throws out the same mean-spirited gags as the other films; if you've seen the trailers for the film, then you've seen the best parts of the film.
Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and his wife Pam (Teri Polo) are now living in Chicago with twin children. Greg helps run one of the floors of the urban hospital he works at and while he seems successful, he has high hopes for his family. His in-laws, Jack (Robert DeNiro) and Dina Byrnes (Blythe Danner) come to visit and things get worse when Jack pushes Greg into taking more control of his family. Misunderstandings and other problems threathen to tear the once-happy family apart for good.
"Little Fockers" is an unnecessary sequel and a big waste: waste of time, talent and celluloid. Much of it falls remarkably flat this time out, given that the DeNiro-Stiller awkward in-law set up, was moderately funny the first time out, not so much since. Silly and contrived, this is a low-point for both talented actors and likely won't be included in any career retrospectives. This one was obviously done for money on both sides of the camera, with both actors giving seemingly disinterested performances.
It also wastes the other big-name talent attached to it, namely Owen Wilson (annoying as ever) and Oscar-winners Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand, the latter two of whom make little more than cameos as Greg's unorthodox parents. Even the addition of Jessica Alba, Laura Dern and Harvey Keitel can't save this mess from crashing and burning early on. This time it just doesn't work: you'd think by now the DeNiro and Stiller characters would have things worked out given all they've been through. Also, whoever was the casting director on this thing should've been fired early on, the fact that the actors playing Greg's twins are obviously different ages makes it all the more unbelieveable.
"Little Fockers" is like a big family reunion where you're surrounded by people you don't like or don't know and you want it to end as soon as possible (and in case you wonder what you saw in them in the first place). Like any unpleasant experiences, you hopefully won't remember much of it, either. Put this awful and awfully forgettable film out of its misery and skip it all together.
