Little Fockers

The third instalment of the 'Focker' series should most certainly be the last, offering up a tepid movie experience with dialled-in performances from an A-list cast clearly doing it for the cash.

What’s the deal?

Little Fockers jumps forward five years from where we last left off in Meet The Fockers – Greg, aka Gaylord (Ben Stiller), is a lowly-paid hospital administrator happily married to stay-at-home mom Pam (Teri Polo), now the parents of four-year-old twins. Meanwhile Jack (Robert De Niro) is facing mortality issues after the aftermath of a heart attack leaves him questioning the future of the Byrnes family name. With philandering son-in-law Dr Bob kicked out of the circle of trust, Jack decides to pass the mantle of ‘GodFocker’ down to the always eager-to-please Greg. When the family converges on the Fockers for the fifth birthday celebrations of the twins, miscommunication and hijinks ensue.

It’s good!

Jessica Alba pleasantly surprises in a comedic turn as a flirtatious pharmaceutical rep/obligatory crazy bitch, while Owen Wilson continues to amuse with the increasingly OTT ex Kevin. The highlight for me was Laura Dern as the uber-PC principal of the trendy, progressive 'Early Human School'.

What’s wrong with you?

What a disappointment. Seriously. Why does everything suddenly has to become all cutesy/schmaltzy when kids are factored into the franchise? The laughs were tepid – there was only one laugh-out-loud scene – and not enough of Babs/Hoffman time. Honestly, I don’t even know why Hoffman even showed his face, he added absolutely nothing to the film. Ditto with La Streisand and Harvey Keitel, who appeared for approx two seconds as a shonky builder. Script-wise, everyone is moving through the paces. I figured out the plot in the first minute De Niro appeared on screen.

Neo-Maxi Zoom Dweeb-ery

In regards to character development, the whole antagonistic Greg/Jack factor just seemed petty and really stupid this time around. Jack’s hatred of Greg – given the fact the've reconciled about one million times previously – seems unnecessary and totally unfounded, making Jack completely unlikable as a result.

Truth?

Come on guys (Streisand, Hoffman, De Niro – I AM talkin’ to you) – you can do a whole lot better than this shit. I wouldn’t waste the money. Strictly video release only.

Bender Fist Pumps

Rating: 2/5

#Comedy #Franchise #VideoReleaseOnly