Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller are returning for Meet The Parents 4, continuing a franchise which has been tolerated since the start of the millennium.
Though Robert De Niro is quite rightly acclaimed as one of the greatest actors of all time, his forays into comedies have been mixed, to say the least. Analyze This and Analyze That did a good job of parodying his tough guy screen persona, and Midnight Run is one of the all time great buddy comedies. But in recent years, you really do have to wonder why he put his name to films like The Adventures Of Rocky And Bullwinkle and gross out comedy Dirty Grandpa. Cash, presumably.
His most successful foray into comedy – commercially if not critically – is easily the Meet The Parents franchise, which was a remake based on a 1992 independent film of the same name written by Greg Glienna (who directed) and Mary Ruth Clarke. Oddball comedian Emo Philips co-produced and made an appearance as a video store clerk.
The films are based on the basic idea of a father in law who hates his son in law, the latter frequently embarrassing himself in front of him. De Niro stars as Jack, alongside Ben Stiller as Greg, Teri Polo as his wife Pam, Blythe Danner as Jack’s wife Dina, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand as Greg’s parents Bernie and Roz, and Owen Wilson as Pam’s ex-boyfriend Kevin.
Meet The Parents was released in 2000, with Meet the Fockers following in 2004 and the latest entry, Little Fockers arriving in 2010.
According to Deadline, a new film is in development. Currently untitled – but let’s go with Meet The Parents 4 to keep the Google search machine happy – De Niro and Stiller are attached, and the screenplay will be written by returning writer John Hamburg. There is no word yet on whether any other actors will return or who will direct, but Jay Roach, who directed the first two films, is on board as a producer. Roach is also set to direct Austin Powers 4, which may knock him out of contention for this film is schedules clash.
We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.
You can stream all three Meet The Parents films on Paramount+ if you fancy.
