Parents lacks Mary hilarity

It's a young suitor's worst nightmare, but that doesn't make it any less amusing for the audience. Meet the Parents takes a comical look into the worst-case scenario of the much dreaded in-law encounter. Ben Stiller plays Greg Focker, the well-intentioned boyfriend who always gets the short end of the stick. Stiller evokes both humor and pity reminiscent of his strikingly similar character from There's Something About Mary. But there is a big difference between these two movies; Meet the Parents leaves the audience feeling empty. A movie advertised to be hilarious should counterbalance the depression that comes from Focker's plight with plenty of hysterical antics. This is not to say that the film is entirely devoid of all humor. The good stuff gets rolling towards the middle of the film, after Focker meets his future father-in-law Jack Byrnes, played by Robert DeNiro. Focker's attempts to make a good impression repeatedly turn sour. Byrnes also doesn't make the situation any easier. As a retired CIA agent, Byrnes subjects Focker to several interrogations, including a lie detector test. The film's trailer shows a film that constantly keeps the audience's attention through laughter. Unfortunately, this was the entire comical heart of the film. Unlike There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents has no more surprises and little shock value. Aside from all this, Meet the Parents makes for the perfect date movie. It's one of those funny movies without the gross-out humor that can sometimes be seen as offensive. The film could be leaving theaters soon, so try to catch it. It's not necessarily a waste of time or money. Rating: B-