Meet the Parents (1992 film)
Encyclopedia
Meet the Parents is a 1992 American independent comedy film written by Greg Glienna
and Mary Ruth Clarke. Glienna also directed and starred in the film as the main protagonist, Greg. The film tells the story of a young man meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time and the problems that arise when the girl's father takes a disliking to the young man.
Filmed on a budget of approximately $100,000 and shot in and around Chicago
, Meet the Parents was not widely distributed and did not earn a large profit at the box office upon its limited release. It did, however, garner some critical acclaim and attention from several people in the film industry who wanted to see the film remade on a bigger budget. Several years after the film's release, Universal Studios
purchased the rights to the independent film. After hiring screenwriter Jim Herzfeld
to expand the script, a new version of Meet the Parents
was filmed and released in October of 2000.
) is on his way to visit his girlfriend Pam's (Jacqueline Cahill) parents for the first time. Stopping at a gas station on the way, he is warned by an attendant (Jim Vincent) of his girlfriend's previous boyfriend's catastrophic experience when he first met her overprotective father. He ignores the advice to turn around and go home. Arriving at the parents' home, he quickly becomes a target of the girl's family's anger when he, among other things, clogs and overflows the toilet, destroys the dinner roast and the family's beloved Victrola, almost blinds his girlfriend's mother with a fishing rod, gets into bed with his girlfriend's sister, and accidentally drowns the family dog. When he feels that the family has nearly been brought to the brink of destruction, his girlfriend's father chases him out of the house with a shotgun.
magazine in 1992. In her review, she called the film a "wonderfully twisted black comedy" even though she believed it to be "excessive and occasionally overdone." Ayscough predicted that the film "could garner a cult following among anti-establishment urbanites" due to its "blatant attack on marriage, suburban indifference, Christian hypocrisy and the nuclear family" and unsuitability for mainstream audiences. Opining that the "script desperately needed an objective eye", she concluded by calling the film an "amusing vehicle which aptly displays the multiple talents of Greg Glienna." Film producer Elliot Grove
, founder of Raindance Film Festival
and the British Independent Film Awards
, listed the original Meet the Parents on his personal Top Ten list of favorite films where he called it "much funnier and tighter than the Hollywood version".
replied that he was interested and that he wanted to direct a remake. He brought it to the attention of Universal Studios who initially declined but subsequently optioned the rights to the film in 1995. Sodebergh took on the project but then dropped it when he got involved with Out of Sight
.
In 1995 Universal Studios
purchased the rights to the film. The screenplay was expanded by screenwriter Jim Herzfeld
and film director Jay Roach
was hired to direct the 2000 version of Meet the Parents
with Ben Stiller
and Robert De Niro
in the leading roles. Distributed by Universal Studios domestically and by United International Pictures
internationally, the new film was a big financial success earning $166.2 million in the United States and a total of $330.4 million worldwide.
Greg Glienna
Greg M. Glienna is an American director and screenwriter best known as the creator of the original Meet the Parents. He also wrote A Guy Thing and wrote and directed Relative Strangers. He is also the co-author of the play Suffer the Long Night which had its Los Angeles premiere August 2008...
and Mary Ruth Clarke. Glienna also directed and starred in the film as the main protagonist, Greg. The film tells the story of a young man meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time and the problems that arise when the girl's father takes a disliking to the young man.
Filmed on a budget of approximately $100,000 and shot in and around 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...
, Meet the Parents was not widely distributed and did not earn a large profit at the box office upon its limited release. It did, however, garner some critical acclaim and attention from several people in the film industry who wanted to see the film remade on a bigger budget. Several years after the film's release, Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
purchased the rights to the independent film. After hiring screenwriter Jim Herzfeld
Jim Herzfeld
Jim Herzfeld is an American film and television screenwriter who has also done work as a television producer. Herzfeld graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 1984. Herzfeld's earliest TV credit is on It's Garry Shandling's Show in 1986. His earliest feature film work was a...
to expand the script, a new version of Meet the Parents
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...
was filmed and released in October of 2000.
Plot
A clumsy but well-meaning young man named Greg (Greg GliennaGreg Glienna
Greg M. Glienna is an American director and screenwriter best known as the creator of the original Meet the Parents. He also wrote A Guy Thing and wrote and directed Relative Strangers. He is also the co-author of the play Suffer the Long Night which had its Los Angeles premiere August 2008...
) is on his way to visit his girlfriend Pam's (Jacqueline Cahill) parents for the first time. Stopping at a gas station on the way, he is warned by an attendant (Jim Vincent) of his girlfriend's previous boyfriend's catastrophic experience when he first met her overprotective father. He ignores the advice to turn around and go home. Arriving at the parents' home, he quickly becomes a target of the girl's family's anger when he, among other things, clogs and overflows the toilet, destroys the dinner roast and the family's beloved Victrola, almost blinds his girlfriend's mother with a fishing rod, gets into bed with his girlfriend's sister, and accidentally drowns the family dog. When he feels that the family has nearly been brought to the brink of destruction, his girlfriend's father chases him out of the house with a shotgun.
Cast
- Greg GliennaGreg GliennaGreg M. Glienna is an American director and screenwriter best known as the creator of the original Meet the Parents. He also wrote A Guy Thing and wrote and directed Relative Strangers. He is also the co-author of the play Suffer the Long Night which had its Los Angeles premiere August 2008...
— Greg - Jacqueline Cahill — Pam
- Mary Ruth Clarke — Fay
- John Dacosse — Customer
- Dick Galloway — Irv
- Harry Hickstein — Lee
- Emo PhilipsEmo PhilipsEmo Philips is an American entertainer and comedian born in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. Much of his standup comedy stems from the use of paraprosdokians and garden path sentences spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice and a confused, childlike delivery of his material to produce the...
— Video Store Clerk - Jim Vincent — Gas Station Attendant
Reception
Film critic Suzan Ayscough reviewed the film for VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine in 1992. In her review, she called the film a "wonderfully twisted black comedy" even though she believed it to be "excessive and occasionally overdone." Ayscough predicted that the film "could garner a cult following among anti-establishment urbanites" due to its "blatant attack on marriage, suburban indifference, Christian hypocrisy and the nuclear family" and unsuitability for mainstream audiences. Opining that the "script desperately needed an objective eye", she concluded by calling the film an "amusing vehicle which aptly displays the multiple talents of Greg Glienna." Film producer Elliot Grove
Elliot Grove
Elliot Grove is a Canadian-born film producer who founded both the Raindance Film Festival in 1993 and the British Independent Film Awards in 1998.- Biography :...
, founder of Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels...
and the British Independent Film Awards
British Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
, listed the original Meet the Parents on his personal Top Ten list of favorite films where he called it "much funnier and tighter than the Hollywood version".
Meet the Parents (2000)
Producer Nancy Tenenbaum acquired the rights to the original film and then she sent a copy to several people of interest hoping to have a new version of the film made. Filmmaker Steven SoderberghSteven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
replied that he was interested and that he wanted to direct a remake. He brought it to the attention of Universal Studios who initially declined but subsequently optioned the rights to the film in 1995. Sodebergh took on the project but then dropped it when he got involved with Out of Sight
Out of Sight
Out of Sight is a 1998 American crime film. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard. It was the first of several collaborations between Soderbergh and star George Clooney. The film was released on June 26, 1998. It was nominated for two...
.
In 1995 Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
purchased the rights to the film. The screenplay was expanded by screenwriter Jim Herzfeld
Jim Herzfeld
Jim Herzfeld is an American film and television screenwriter who has also done work as a television producer. Herzfeld graduated from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 1984. Herzfeld's earliest TV credit is on It's Garry Shandling's Show in 1986. His earliest feature film work was a...
and film director 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:...
was hired to direct the 2000 version of Meet the Parents
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...
with 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....
and 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...
in the leading roles. Distributed by Universal Studios domestically and by United International Pictures
United International Pictures
United International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...
internationally, the new film was a big financial success earning $166.2 million in the United States and a total of $330.4 million worldwide.
See also
- 1992 in film1992 in filmThe year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
- Cinema of the United StatesCinema of the United StatesThe cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
- List of American films of 1992