(L to R) Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro in ‘Little Fockers’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Preview:
- A new entry in the ‘Meet the Parents’ franchise is in the works.
- Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner are in talks to return.
- John Hamburg is writing the script.
Of all the film franchises that have made a return of late, we’re not sure that we had ‘Meet the Parents’ on our bingo card.
Yet here we go… Deadline brings word that Universal Pictures is putting the pieces together for a fourth movie based on the reliable comedy concept of awkward encounters between future in-laws.
Main cast members Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner are all reportedly in early talks to come back for the new outing.
Work is already under way on the script, with John Hamburg, who worked on all three previous entries, back on duty. There is no director attached yet.
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What’s the story of the ‘Meet the Parents’ movies?
(L to R) Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in ‘Meet the Parents’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
The idea for the ‘Parents’ franchise actually originated years before Ben Stiller accidentally knocked an urn full of ashes from a mantle or milking a cat was ever discussed.
Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke created and co-wrote an independent film, also titled ‘Meet the Parents,’ back in 1992.
Glienna directed, wrote two original songs, and starred as protagonist Greg: a Chicago advertising agent who travels with his fiancée Pam Burns to meet her parents, Irv and Kay, over a weekend but sets off a series of accidents and causes the family to fall apart.
After Pam’s sister Fay commits suicide, framing Greg in the process, Irv attempts to shoot him but accidentally kills Kay and Pam before dying of a heart attack. So… yes, a little darker even than what followed.
Sensing some potential (albeit with less murder/suicide), Universal bought the rights to the indie movie. The studio hired screenwriter Jim Herzfeld to expand the script and tone down some of the sharper edges, which led to what we all now know as ‘Meet the Parents’ in 2000.
Jay Roach directed that film, with John Hamburg re-writing the script. It stars Stiller as Gaylord “Greg” Focker, a male nurse who is looking to propose to his girlfriend, Pam (Polo). Upon learning that Pam’s sister’s fiancé sought her father’s permission to marry, Greg sees an opportunity when they travel to her parents for the wedding.
As it turns out, Pam’s father is the stern, authoritative Jack Byrnes (De Niro), who claims to have been a florist in his career but is in fact a retired CIA counterintelligence officer. And not quite as retired as he claims. Chaos ensues, including the aforementioned urn destruction, injuries and bad behavior from Jack’s beloved cat Mr. Jinx.
(L to R) Blythe Danner and Robert De Niro in ‘Little Fockers’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Danner played Dina, Jack’s wife who is much less stress-inducing than him, but still less easygoing than Greg’s family. Yet despite all the madness, Greg does manage to convince Jack he’s worthy of Pam and ends up engaged.
That film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $166.2 million domestically and a total of $330.4 million worldwide.
A sequel was greenlit, with Roach returning to direct and Herzfeld and Hamburg once more writing. In 2004’s ‘Meet the Fockers,’ Greg and Pam decide to have Jack and Dina meet his parents.
The eccentric, fun-loving and free-spirited couple are, Bernie Focker (Dustin Hoffman), a lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-dad, and Roz (Barbra Streisand), a sex therapist for elderly couples. While Dina bonds with the Fockers, cracks form between Jack and the Fockers due to their contrasting personalities and backgrounds.
There’s also the small matter of Greg potentially having fathered a child as a teenager with the Focker family house-keeping and renewed tension with Jack. Yet it all works out happily and Greg and Pam marry at the end.
‘Meet the Fockers’ was an even bigger hit, earning more than $279 million domestically and more than $522 million worldwide.
The world had to wait until 2010 for the third entry, ‘Little Fockers,’ which saw Hamburg back writing, this time alongside Larry Stuckey. Paul Weitz took over directing chores.
“Kids bring everyone closer, right?”
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1 hr 38 minDec 21st, 2010
‘Little Fockers,’ which finds Greg and Pam preparing to celebrate the fifth birthday of their twins Samantha and Henry.
However, things seem to go awry for Greg when his in-laws, Jack and Dina Byrnes, visit them, and Jack announces he is looking for his successor as the head of the Byrnes family. Jack’s family has been hit by his daughter’s (Pam’s sister) divorce and more disruption, plus some health issues.
Yet more madness follows, though it ends well for both men, even if Greg’s parents announce they’re moving to Chicago to be closer to him and Pam.
This third film was critically panned and not as successful as the previous two entries, ending up with a worldwide total of $310.7 million.
As for what might happen in a future entry? We predict tension, slapstick and chances for family bonding. There’s a chance that Hoffman and Streisand could return as Greg’s parents.
But the big question on everyone’s lips is… will Mr. Jinx the cat also come back? We hear he has a fairly feral manager.
When will the new ‘Meet the Parents’ movie hit theaters?
With the movie still lacking a director and since the cast isn’t yet locked in, Universal hasn’t set a release date for the film. We can’t imagine it arriving much before 2026, though.
(L to R) Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller in ‘Little Fockers’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
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