Little Fockers, the third in the Meet The Parents franchise, is that inevitable film in any long running film series where the film makers run out of steam. In TV land it's called jumping the shark, and it can happen to a film franchise at any time. Occasionally it happens on the first sequel (Ghostbusters II), more frequently on the third movie (Spider-man 3) and there are some franchises where it (arguably)hasn't quite happened yet (Die Hard)...but the odds are if you keep making follow ups to a big box office hit, you're gonna hit a brick wall at some time.
And so it comes to pass that Little Fockers is average as hell. It's not hatefully unfunny like Due Date or Dinner For Schmucks, but the jokes are weaker and less frequent that the often hilarious Focker films. This is partly due to a weaker script, a change at the top with Paul Weitz taking over as director from Jay Roach and a change in the dynamic between the two leads, Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro.
Obviously anticipating that they need to keep the story fresh, Stiller and DeNiro's character's trade personality traits; Stiller becomes more authoritative and DeNiro becomes more accident prone. That's not to say it's a complete role reversal...Stiller is still the hapless guy out of his depth... just less so. It's also sillier and less grounded than its predecessors, which often sits restlessly with the family drama that's unfolding, including an uncomfortable side plot about adultery that rarely works comically.
No it's time to let this franchise go to pasture and Ben and Bob can fock off.
No comments:
Post a Comment