Little Fockers
Encyclopedia
Little Fockers is a 2010 American comedy film and sequel to Meet the Parents
(2000) and Meet the Fockers
(2004). It stars Robert De Niro
, Ben Stiller
, Owen Wilson
, Blythe Danner
, Teri Polo
, Dustin Hoffman
and Barbra Streisand
. The first film in the series not to be directed by Jay Roach
, it is instead directed by Paul Weitz
with Roach as one of the producers. Likewise Stephen Trask
, a relative newcomer, takes over composing duties from veteran Randy Newman
. In addition to the original cast, Little Fockers features Jessica Alba
, Laura Dern
and Harvey Keitel
.
In order to prove he can look after the family, Greg tries to get his children into a better school (although he almost blows the chance), build a new house (which has problems in the garden), and get his finances in order. When Greg meets Bob at a bar, Bob tells Greg that he has never been happier after getting off "the hamster wheel" and that he was Jack's first choice to lead the family, even giving him the name "The Bobfather", which makes Greg a little upset. Jack's actions eventually force Greg to run away from home and seek solace with Andi, who mistakenly believes that he is there to have an affair. While searching for Greg, Jack sees Andi kissing him and assumes that Greg is being unfaithful to Pam. Jack and Greg eventually make up at the twins' birthday party after a fight, in which Jack suffers a heart attack and Greg saves his life.
The film continues four months later on Christmas Day when Jack, Dina, Bernie, and Roz come to spend Christmas with Pam and Greg in their new house. Greg's parents give Jack a present of a kippah
, informing him they traced his family roots back while nursing him back to health, discovering he is part Jewish. Bernie informs them that he and Roz are moving to Chicago
and are going to move two houses down from theirs. Jack and Dina decide they will move too, because they also want to be close to their grandchildren. The film ends with Greg and Pam trying to wean their parents off the idea. During the credits, Jack watches a video of Greg on YouTube
and discovers a remixed version of it.
Supporting
Minor
Writer John Hamburg stated the film would deal with "themes of death and divorce and all these real things that, as we get older, we start to think about, but in a really comical way."
Outside the United States, this is the first film in the series to be released by Paramount Pictures
, which acquired the DreamWorks
back catalog in 2006 (and owned the studio itself until 2008), including co-ownership in the Meet the Parents franchise. DreamWorks remains as a co-copyright holder with Universal Studios
(as DW Studios).
It was announced on August 24, 2010, that Dustin Hoffman was finally going to reprise his role as Greg's father, Bernie Focker. When the movie was in pre-production, the studios couldn't reach an agreement with Hoffman, but finally agreed on terms to bring him back for the film, though his role was smaller than the previous film.
The first trailer was released on June 24, 2010. It was then shown in front of showings of Grown Ups and Dinner for Schmucks
. A second trailer was released online November 10, 2010 and is attached with Morning Glory
, Unstoppable
and Skyline
. The film was released in the UK and US on December 22, 2010.
assigned the film a 10% "rotten" score based on 140 reviews, as well as an average rating of 3.4/10. On Metacritic
, the film's average score was 27 out of 100 based on the reviews of 32 critics, meaning "generally negative reviews". Empire
gave two stars out of five, summing up, "there are inevitably moments when Hoffman or Wilson get a laugh, but on the whole, it’s the same again, but weaker and with fewer good jokes." Alex Zane of Sun Online called the film a "predictable but not unwelcome addition to the Focker family", giving it three out of five stars.
Much of the negative reviews criticized the film for being too predictable and having a "stupid" or "unfunny" sense of humor. Probably the most negative of reviews came from Anders Wotzke, a critic from Cut Print Review, who called the film less funny than the 1993 Holocaust film Schindler's List
. Cole Smithey called the entire comedy franchise the most "dubious in movie history".
Stars from the film have acknowledged critical dislike of the film. During his Lifetime Achievement Award speech at the Golden Globes
, Robert De Niro
said, "I was very, very moved and gratified when you made the announcement [of this award] two months ago, well before you had a chance to review 'Little Fockers.'"
. It opened first on its opening weekend on approximately 5,000 screens at 3,536 locations across US and Canada, bringing its five-day opening to $48.3 million. By comparison, Meet the Fockers made $46.1 million on the same weekend in 2004 for a five-day total of $70.5 million. As of April 9, 2011, Little Fockers grossed $148,438,600 in the United States and Canada, and $161,007,198 from other countries around the world, for a worldwide total of $309,445,798.
Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. Starring Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, the film chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless male nurse while visiting his girlfriend's parents...
(2000) and Meet the Fockers
Meet the Fockers
Meet the Fockers is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Jay Roach and the sequel to Meet the Parents. The film stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo. It was followed up by a sequel, Little Fockers, in 2010.-Plot:Nurse Gaylord "Greg"...
(2004). It stars Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
, Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
, Blythe Danner
Blythe Danner
Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
, Teri Polo
Teri Polo
Theresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo is an American actress known for her role of Pam Focker in the movie Meet the Parents and its two sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers...
, Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
and Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
. The first film in the series not to be directed by Jay Roach
Jay Roach
Matthew Jay Roach is an American film director and producer, best known for directing the Austin Powers films and Meet the Parents.-Life and career:...
, it is instead directed by Paul Weitz
Paul Weitz (filmmaker)
Paul John Weitz is an American film producer, screenwriter, actor, and film director.-Personal life:Weitz was born in New York City, New York, the son of the actress Susan Kohner and novelist/fashion designer John Weitz, and the grandson of producer Paul Kohner and Mexican actress Lupita...
with Roach as one of the producers. Likewise Stephen Trask
Stephen Trask
Stephen Trask is an American musician and composer, who graduated from Wesleyan University.He was the music director and house band member at the New York club Squeezebox, where he performed with stars such as Debbie Harry, Lene Lovich and Joey Ramone.Trask composed the music and lyrics for the...
, a relative newcomer, takes over composing duties from veteran Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
. In addition to the original cast, Little Fockers features Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba
Jessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
, Laura Dern
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
and Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
.
Plot
Greg and his wife Pam, daughter of retired CIA agent Jack, have five-year-old twins, Henry and Samantha. After Jack learns that Dr. Bob Banks, the husband of his second daughter Debbie, has been cheating on his wife and divorced her, Jack begins to experience significant health issues and appoints Greg to the new head of the family, the "Godfocker". However, he starts to have doubts about his decision, because he thinks Greg has an affair with Andi Garcia, a sexy pharmaceutical-company representative with whom he sells the erectile dysfunction drug Sustengo. This is not true, the impression is due to coincidences and drunkenness of Andi. Jack even suggests to Pam that it might be better to divorce Greg and resume her relationship with Kevin Rawley, her former fiancé. Greg and Pam are annoyed by this.In order to prove he can look after the family, Greg tries to get his children into a better school (although he almost blows the chance), build a new house (which has problems in the garden), and get his finances in order. When Greg meets Bob at a bar, Bob tells Greg that he has never been happier after getting off "the hamster wheel" and that he was Jack's first choice to lead the family, even giving him the name "The Bobfather", which makes Greg a little upset. Jack's actions eventually force Greg to run away from home and seek solace with Andi, who mistakenly believes that he is there to have an affair. While searching for Greg, Jack sees Andi kissing him and assumes that Greg is being unfaithful to Pam. Jack and Greg eventually make up at the twins' birthday party after a fight, in which Jack suffers a heart attack and Greg saves his life.
The film continues four months later on Christmas Day when Jack, Dina, Bernie, and Roz come to spend Christmas with Pam and Greg in their new house. Greg's parents give Jack a present of a kippah
Kippah
A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
, informing him they traced his family roots back while nursing him back to health, discovering he is part Jewish. Bernie informs them that he and Roz are moving to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and are going to move two houses down from theirs. Jack and Dina decide they will move too, because they also want to be close to their grandchildren. The film ends with Greg and Pam trying to wean their parents off the idea. During the credits, Jack watches a video of Greg on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and discovers a remixed version of it.
Cast
Main- Robert De NiroRobert De NiroRobert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
as Jack Tiberius Byrnes - Ben StillerBen StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
as Gaylord "Greg" Focker - Owen WilsonOwen WilsonOwen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
as Kevin Rawley - Blythe DannerBlythe DannerBlythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
as Dina Byrnes - Teri PoloTeri PoloTheresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo is an American actress known for her role of Pam Focker in the movie Meet the Parents and its two sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers...
as Pamela "Pam" Focker - Jessica AlbaJessica AlbaJessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
as Andi Garcia
Supporting
- Laura DernLaura DernLaura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
as Prudence Simmons - Dustin HoffmanDustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
as Bernard "Bernie" Focker - Barbra StreisandBarbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
as Rosalind "Roz" Focker - Harvey KeitelHarvey KeitelHarvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
as Randy Weir - Kevin HartKevin Hart (actor)Kevin Hart is an American actor and stand-up comedian.-Early life and career:Hart was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised by his single mother...
as Nurse Louis - Colin Baiocchi as Henry Focker
- Daisy TahanDaisy TahanDaisy Tahan is an American actress best known for her role as Samantha Focker in Little Fockers. Tahan also originated the role of Fiona Peyton in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie. Tahan, the younger sister of Willie and actor Charlie Tahan, lives in Glen Rock, New Jersey, .-Filmography:-External...
as Samantha Focker
Minor
- Thomas McCarthyThomas McCarthy (actor)Thomas Joseph McCarthy is an American actor, writer, and film director who has appeared in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night, and Good Luck, and television shows such as The Wire, Boston Public, Law & Order, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Saint Maybe...
as Dr. Bob Banks - Yul VazquezYul VazquezYul Vázquez was born in Cuba. He is an actor and he is married to Linda Larkin.He has appeared as “Bob” in the Seinfeld episodes “The Soup Nazi”, “The Sponge” and “The Puerto Rican Day”....
as Junior - Jack Axelrod as Chappy
- Clent Bowers as Mr. Androvsky
- Olga FondaOlga FondaOlga Tchakova better known professionally as Olga Fonda, is a Russian-born film and television actress and model.-Early life:Tchakova was born in Siberia in what was then the U.S.S.R., and then lived in Ukhta, in the country's Komi Republic...
as Svetlana - Laksh Singh as Dr. Patel
- Jake Keiffer as Rufus
- Rob HuebelRob HuebelRob Huebel is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series Human Giant. He currently co-stars on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital.-Early life:...
as Sleazy Doctor Ballard - Deepak ChopraDeepak ChopraDeepak Chopra is an Indian medical doctor, public speaker, and writer on subjects such as spirituality, Ayurveda and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as an endocrinologist and later shifted his focus to alternative medicine. Chopra now runs his own medical center, with a focus on...
as Himself - Sergio CalderónSergio CalderónSergio Calderón is a Mexican actor.Calderón's first role was that of "Pedro" in the 1971 film The Bridge in the Jungle. Since then he has appeared in numerous films including the 1997 film Men in Black and the 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End .-External links:...
as Gustavo - Amy StillerAmy StillerAmy Stiller is an American actress. She is a stand up comedian, in New York City, and also a Bikram Yoga instructor.She was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of the comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara , and the older sister of actor Ben Stiller.-Filmography:* Lovers and Other...
as Kristen - Harry Bali as Sadu
- Celina Zambón as Carmencita
- Joseph Mazurk as Paul the CTA Passenger
Production
Production for Little Fockers began in July 2009.Writer John Hamburg stated the film would deal with "themes of death and divorce and all these real things that, as we get older, we start to think about, but in a really comical way."
Outside the United States, this is the first film in the series to be released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, which acquired the DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
back catalog in 2006 (and owned the studio itself until 2008), including co-ownership in the Meet the Parents franchise. DreamWorks remains as a co-copyright holder with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
(as DW Studios).
It was announced on August 24, 2010, that Dustin Hoffman was finally going to reprise his role as Greg's father, Bernie Focker. When the movie was in pre-production, the studios couldn't reach an agreement with Hoffman, but finally agreed on terms to bring him back for the film, though his role was smaller than the previous film.
Release
In January 2010, the release date for the film was pushed back from July 30, 2010, to December 22, 2010, because Universal hoped to benefit from the long Christmas weekend.The first trailer was released on June 24, 2010. It was then shown in front of showings of Grown Ups and Dinner for Schmucks
Dinner for Schmucks
Dinner for Schmucks, a 2010 screwball comedy film, is the American adaptation of the French film Le Dîner de Cons , being described by the director as "inspired by" the original rather than a remake of it...
. A second trailer was released online November 10, 2010 and is attached with Morning Glory
Morning Glory (2010 film)
Morning Glory is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Roger Michell, produced by J.J. Abrams and written by Aline Brosh McKenna. It stars Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson and Jeff Goldblum. After some delays, the film was released in the United States on November...
, Unstoppable
Unstoppable (2010 film)
Unstoppable is a 2010 American action thriller film directed by Tony Scott, written by Mark Bomback, and starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. The film tells the story of a runaway freight train, and the two men who attempt to stop it.The film was released in the United States and Canada on...
and Skyline
Skyline (2010 film)
Skyline is a 2010 alien invasion science fiction film directed and produced by the Brothers Strause. The film was released on November 12, 2010. It stars Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, Donald Faison, and David Zayas...
. The film was released in the UK and US on December 22, 2010.
Critical reception
Little Fockers received negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
assigned the film a 10% "rotten" score based on 140 reviews, as well as an average rating of 3.4/10. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film's average score was 27 out of 100 based on the reviews of 32 critics, meaning "generally negative reviews". Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
gave two stars out of five, summing up, "there are inevitably moments when Hoffman or Wilson get a laugh, but on the whole, it’s the same again, but weaker and with fewer good jokes." Alex Zane of Sun Online called the film a "predictable but not unwelcome addition to the Focker family", giving it three out of five stars.
Much of the negative reviews criticized the film for being too predictable and having a "stupid" or "unfunny" sense of humor. Probably the most negative of reviews came from Anders Wotzke, a critic from Cut Print Review, who called the film less funny than the 1993 Holocaust film Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
. Cole Smithey called the entire comedy franchise the most "dubious in movie history".
Stars from the film have acknowledged critical dislike of the film. During his Lifetime Achievement Award speech at the Golden Globes
68th Golden Globe Awards
The 68th Golden Globe Awards was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 16, 2011, by NBC. The host was Ricky Gervais....
, Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
said, "I was very, very moved and gratified when you made the announcement [of this award] two months ago, well before you had a chance to review 'Little Fockers.'"
Box office performance
Little Fockers failed to match the opening weekend gross of its predecessor, Meet the FockersMeet the Fockers
Meet the Fockers is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Jay Roach and the sequel to Meet the Parents. The film stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner and Teri Polo. It was followed up by a sequel, Little Fockers, in 2010.-Plot:Nurse Gaylord "Greg"...
. It opened first on its opening weekend on approximately 5,000 screens at 3,536 locations across US and Canada, bringing its five-day opening to $48.3 million. By comparison, Meet the Fockers made $46.1 million on the same weekend in 2004 for a five-day total of $70.5 million. As of April 9, 2011, Little Fockers grossed $148,438,600 in the United States and Canada, and $161,007,198 from other countries around the world, for a worldwide total of $309,445,798.
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Razzie Awards Golden Raspberry Awards A Golden Raspberry Award, or Razzie for short, is an award presented in recognition of the worst in movies. Founded by American copywriter and publicist John J.B. Wilson in 1981, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day... |
Worst Supporting Actress | Jessica Alba Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel... |
|
| Barbra Streisand Barbra Streisand Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,... |
||||
| Worst Screenplay | John Hamburg John Hamburg John Hamburg is an American screenwriter and film director.-Early life:Hamburg was born in New York City to a Jewish family. His mother is radio personality Joan Hamburg. He graduated from Brown University in 1992 with a degree in history... and Larry Stuckey |
External links
- Little Fockers at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...