Meet The Parents was an extremely pleasant surprise. Not only was it very funny thanks to the pairing of De Niro and Ben Stiller, but it was also a film with a very sincere and sweet emotional core. The first film dealt with Greg meeting his wife's in-laws. It is no surprise then that the sequel, Meet The Fockers, deals with Pam's family meeting Greg's in-laws. Meet The Fockers, while not as fresh or genuine as the original, is still a very enjoyable film to see on a weekend night.

As mentioned before the plot is essentially the same as the first one except reversed. Pam (Teri Polo) and Greg( Ben Stiller) are about to be married, but before that happens Pam's parents have to meet Greg's parents who apparently live in Key West (it's never quite clear). Naturally Greg's parents are completely different socially than Pam's parents. While Pam's parents, Dina(Blyth Danner) and Jack(Robert De Niro), are conservative and pretty up-tight Greg's parents are liberal and open about anything no matter how embarrassing it may be. Greg's parents are Roz (Barbara Streisand) and Bernie (Dustin Hoffman). Roz is a sex therapist, and Bernie is a former pro-bono lawyer turned to stay at home dad. Much like the first movie this one covers one short weekend where naturally lots of hjinks ensue.

Complicating the matters for the weekend is the fact that it seems like Pam may be pregnant. Considering Jack's nature this poses a big problem for the couple. On top of that, there is a sub-plot involving the Focker's former housekeeper whom Greg apparently lost his virginity to at a young age. Making things even worse is the possibility that Greg may have fathered a child during that childhood tryst.

As one can see from the plot summary this is certainly a more complicated film than the first one. Not only do we have two sets of people getting off to a rocky start, but there is also the two major sub-plots. As far as the main storyline, it is pretty much a repeat of the first movie. Admittedly, yes the plotlines larger with different people, but the essential joke is pretty much the same. That is the idea of two very different groups of people coming together and letting them clash. Now there is nothing wrong with keeping this essential storyline. After all, it is a sequel. Yet, it's really hard to stay as fresh when all the jokes are essentially variations of the first film including the on-running joke of Jack claiming to be in the flower business.

This doesn't mean the jokes aren't funny. The movie is certainly amusing and enjoyable as everyone seems to be having a ball on screen. The movie also tried to be as genuine as the first film, but, while it is sweet, it lacks the heart that was clearly on display with the first film. Part of the reason is that the original film concentrated on it's main storyline with few distracting sub-plots. They can't really do that for a sequel, but it certainly acts as a detriment. Not that the new sub-plots aren't humorous, it's just that they seem over-the-top and a bit silly. The running joke involving Greg's supposed son is over-the-top and out-of-place in what one assumed was a sweet comedy. It's not that it's not amusing, it just cheapens the movie as things get more ridiculous.

In the end though, the greatest asset of this film and what plays a large part in making the film as enjoyable as it is are the performances by all the actors. All the actors have proven to theater going audiences at least once that they can play comedy. Here all the actors proves themselves worthy once again especially Ben Stiller who has seemingly cornered the market on playing well-meaning schmucks. For Meet The Fockerss it is no different. Dustin Hoffman also shows an impressive range at comedy. One of the most important aspects to any comedy is chemistry and the stars have this between each other in spades. Meet The Fockers is not a perfects movie or even a particularly great one. It lacks the fresh nature of the original. The jokes, while certainly funny, are instantly forgettable once one leaves the theater. Meet The Fockers makes for an enjoyable night at the theater and nothing more.