Meet the Parents works so well because the sheer terror and anxiety of meeting your girlfriend or boyfriend’s family is a tale as old as time. Will fans get to revisit this hilarious world?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new Meet the Parents movie is being developed. Although a director hasn’t been shared publicly, franchise writer John Hamburg is penning the script. The publication reported that Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Robert De Niro, and Ben Stiller are “in early talks.”
In the first movie, which was released in 2000, Greg Focker (Stiller) is freaked out about getting to know his GF Pam Byrnes’s (Polo) parents, Jack (one of De Niro’s many unhappy characters) and Dina (Danner). The chaos continued in Meet the Fockers, which was released in 2004, and Little Fockers, which came out in 2010. The movies can definitely be described as cringeworthy, and they have more than a few silly moments that might seem pretty unrealistic and over-the-top. But they have some heart, too. Pam’s parents just want to spend time with her and make sure that she’s happy. They might not always go about it the right way and they can be irritating, but they mean well. Or at least that’s what Greg has to tell himself in order to get through each day.
When a movie earns hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, more movies are inevitable, so the announcement of Meet the Parents 4 isn’t a surprise. What’s perhaps a bit more surprising is that the franchise has endured for so long. Hollywood has gone through more than a few changes since 2000, the most notable being the advancement of streaming platforms, but this story still feels relatable and classic. It’s been 14 years since Little Fockers was released. But, since the main message of the franchise is that family can drive you nuts but you’re lucky to have them, it feels like a new entry could be made anytime.
In an interview on Hot Ones, Stiller shared that Meet the Fockers could have been rated R because the MPA said the last name Focker sounded like, well, you know. I doubt the new movie will get an R rating. Sure, Greg’s mom Roz (Barbra Streisand) is a sex therapist, but there’s nothing super scandalous or dirty in this sequel. The whole franchise doesn’t seem like it should be R rated, either. Or maybe I just can’t remember! It’s been a while and I’ve seen a lot of movies since then.
I can’t even imagine what the new Meet the Parents could be called. …Meet the Parents Again? Remember the Parents? don’t quite have the same ring to it as the OG title. Since so much time has passed since the third movie, Pam and Greg’s twins are all grown up. Perhaps one of them is getting married, which would be a fun and stressful excuse for the whole fam to get together again and wreak havoc. This time around, Pam and Greg are the parents who someone wants to impress, which would bring the whole story full circle.
While everyone waits for more details about Meet the Parents 4, you can count your blessings if your in-laws are less frustrating than Dina and Jack. Hopefully that first meeting went a lot more smoothly.