Review of Little Fockers (2010) by Alec M — 21 Aug 2011

Little Fockers is the third installment in the series. Everyone is back to reprising their roles. You have Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, and the newest addition, Jessica Alba. A lot of big names here. In every addition there is always a new character, here it is Jessica Alba, a pharmaceutical company representative. Most of the new additions have added something; I don't feel that Jessica Alba added anything new or special to the series. None of the acting is great. Except Owen Wilson who steals every scene he is in. He still doesn't get to show how funny he really is here. He brings most of the funny parts. He is only in it for a short time unfortunately.

Since there are so many good actors, not all of them get good screen time. Like Dustin Hoffman, a great actor, who doesn't even have time to do anything on screen. The same goes Barbra Streisand, an actress who can be really funny sometimes. All in all, the cast does the best they can with the roles and script. The plot? Greg (Ben Stiller) and Pam (Teri Polo) are throwing a fifth birthday party for their twins, and Greg and Pam's parents are coming. But Jack(Robert De Niro) just had a heart attack.

So he wants to know if Greg is ready to be the God Focker. If you have seen the other two movies, then you know it's a matter of time before something goes wrong. My main problem with the movie is the script. They have all the fart, poop, and puke jokes. But they are missing any humor beyond that (except Owen Wilson). To top it off, you're not very interested in the story because it is so predictable. Some movies that are predictable can work good, but in this case it doesn't Jay Roach directed the first two superior Focker films.

Paul Weitz took over for this one. I think Jay Roach would have done a better job. This series really didn't need to continue. Still you really have to think to find a trilogy where the third one was actually any good. The other ones were not great movies, but they had more funny moments, and everything tied together better.

This is a movie you will rent, or see on Netflix one day because you're bored and don't know what to watch. If you enjoyed the other Focker movies you might find some enjoyment the first time. If you really want to see Stiller's Greg and De Niro's Jack have at it, then watch Meet the Parents. Meet the Parents was the best in this series. This movie could have been better with a better director and a better script. Little Fockers is a modest and sometime funny comedy. The Focker series just ran out of gas, it's time it stayed parked.