Ben Stiller shares the hilarious way ‘Meet the Fockers’ avoided an R-rating

A great series that Ben Stiller has become known for began with Meet the Parents, but it really blew up with the release of its sequel, Meet the Fockers. Now we’re learning the movie almost had a much more limited reach, as it was inches away from getting an R-rating.

While R-rated movies have seen massive levels of success both in the past and present, advertising a film for an older audience means it will generally be seen by fewer people. That’s why ensuring that you received a PG-13 rating was quite important, especially for a family comedy like Meet the Fockers.

Ultimately, the sequel did get its PG-13 rating, but the team had to fight for it. In fact, they had to search the earth for someone with the last name Focker to prove it was a real name and not just a play on the explicit word. Speaking on Hot Ones, Stiller confirmed they did have to clear the name to get that PG-13 rating.

I think that is true. Yeah. It was a PG-13, and they thought it was too close to ‘fucker.’ Yes. They have to clear names… Something like that did happen.”

It’s bizarre to think that a film crew would need to scour through birth records to find someone with the last name Focker just to appease the MPA (Motion Picture Association), but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Ultimately it was the right call as the film went on to be a gigantic hit, making $522 million at the box office worldwide and becoming the second highest-grossing movie of the year. This may not have been the same story if it was slapped with an R-rating.

While it might be the most hilarious way in which Stiller had a film cleared by the MPA in his career, it’s not the only one. In fact, the star also recalled a time when he was forced to give a speech so that Zoolander could also remain PG-13.

I also remember having to go to the MPA when they wanted to give Zoolander an R rating because the goat orgy is something they didn’t care for or think was wholesome enough. The whole thing was so ridiculous. I wrote a little speech and talked about other movies that had worse things in them. It was nerve-wracking because it was so important. When you have a comedy and have jokes you know work, the last thing you want to do is cut them for a rating.”

Fortunately, it would seem that securing PG-13 didn’t require either of these films to make any major cuts, and that’s what has turned them into the comedy classics they are today.

Meet the Fockers went on to get its own sequel, Little Fockers, in 2010 as did Zoolander, with Zoolander 2 arriving in theaters in 2016. Unfortunately, neither of these sequels managed to capture the magic of their predecessor.

If you want to hear more of what Stiller had to say about these movies or his career in general, you can check out the full Hot Ones interview on YouTube now.