Movie Review - Little Fockers

After we met the parents, and we met the Fockers, we are on to the third chapter of Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) versus his father-in-law, Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro). The third chapter involves kids, all the parents and the coming together of a family. But, can it recreate the magic of the first movie? You should read on, but I bet you can guess what I'm going to say.

The movie picks up with Greg juggeling his family with the stress of work, and raising two kids while maintaining a relationship with his wife. Sounds funny so far, right? We finally see Jack come back into Greg's life in the only way he can, as he wants to make Greg the patriarch of the family, or the "Godfocker," as long as he can prove he can lead like Jack does. What follows is Jack and Greg dueling, DeNiro's boner, Jessica Alba being kinda annoying and plenty of "focker" jokes.

I loved the first movie; and why not? There's plenty to love with the first movie. The second movie added two fun characters to the same formula, and the third went back to the same formula, only to add some kids. The point is, it's the same formula, just watered down with extra characters, and more of the same jokes. Now, if you really liked the formula, there will be something left for you to enjoy. For me, it felt like when I hear a friend of mine say the same joke over and over again. The first couple times you laugh, but by the third time, you just grow weary.

There were some good parts to the movie. I think Greg has grown into more than a screw-up; he's a real man, with real issues; kids and a lot to juggle. I like how he's developed, and has become an equal to Jack. I also liked any scene with Greg's parents, played by Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman. While there weren't a lot of scenes, there were a few good ones. The other good scenes were visable in the trailer, like Jack's boner and the chemistry between Stiller and DeNiro. Sadly, there wasn't many other funny parts left for the film.

Sure, there was the classic duel between Stiller and DeNiro, which reached epic proportions in this film, and there were scenes making fun of poop jokes, and blood, and how the word "focker" sounds like something else, but in the end, I would've felt ripped off using my whole paycheck to pay for this movie.