Arrow Archives
1996-2001

Man, That's
Weird
A column by
Jim Bennett

Flathead-High
FHS up close

Arrow Staff
2000-2001

Launch.com
Live music,
music videos, downloads & much more

Classmates.com
Find old friends from FHS

School District 5
Recent School Information

Yahoo.com Newspaper Listings
High school newspapers

The Missoulian
The Missoulian Internet Edition

TeenVoice
The electronic
voice of teens

It's time for you to Meet the Parents,
but this time you'll like it

J.T. Baker - Arrow Staff

   Dating - easy for some, but not so for others. Pretty soon it's been two months. Everything is going well. You and your girl or boy are in love, and you and your partner are eating one of the best dinners you have ever eaten.

   All of a sudden … the sky gets dark. There's lightning. There's thunder. Everything turns into slow motion as she says. "I wwaanntt yyoouu ttoo mmeeeett mmyy ppaarreennttss."

   You're thinking to yourself: oh crap!

   Now imagine your name being Gaylord Focker then trying to meet the parents. Meet the Parents is a great movie, a classic that you could totally see happening.

   Focker plans to ask his girlfriend to marry him. As he is about to, she reminds him that he has to meet her parents. This is where the fun begins. He spends a whole weekend with a family that he has never met before-and tries to impress them. Well the rest is for you to find out what went on, or should I say what went wrong.

   Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller are the main characters. You don't really think of these two being in a movie together, and maybe that is why this one worked.

   Robert DeNiro is an actor who'll not be forgotten for his excellent performances. Casino was a movie about what really goes on behind the scenes of a big Las Vegas casino. Men of honor is a great movie about honor and where it can get you in life. Back Draft, a movie about fire and the dangers of being a fire fighter. The Deer Hunter, a true story about war, and how friends are really important. He was also in The Godfather, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and Taxi Driver.

   DeNiro usually plays the tough guy in his movies, and rarely do you see him in a comedy. Comedy is what Ben Stiller is all about. Never do you usually see Stiller in a serious movie.

Ben Stiller, obviously, is more of a comedian than DeNiro. Ben's most popular movie was Something About Mary, a very different comedy that kept you laughing till your popcorn was gone. Mystery Men was one of my favorites. If you're a X-Men fan this movie might appeal to you. The world is in great danger and the Mystery Men come to the rescue. Some of Stiller's older movies include Elvis Stories, Fresh Horses, Next of Kin, and Stella. Stiller usually plays a hopeless romantic, who can't get anything right. What could go wrong for him in Meet the Parents is he's about to get married.

   In Meet The Parents they still have DeNiro as the tough guy, but they add a little twist of comedy. DeNiro is a very protective dad who will go to the limit to see his daughter to safety. When you think about the two actors together in a movie, it clashes worst than Mr. Cowan (a great guy, incidently). When you watch the movie, the two make a great duo.

   It was really hard for me to laugh at this movie. The comedy is so different from your normal comedy. Focker (the main character) has such a bummer weekend. Things that happen to him are laughing-out-loud hilarious, but also very sad. You end up feeling so sorry for the guy. It is hard to laugh, or at least you just feeling bad for laughing.
If you watch this movie you should really take notes on what not to do. After all, one of these days, you have to Meet The Parents.