Just when you thought you were free from unnecessary movie sequels, they pull you back in!
Hey, if the trailer for "Little Fockers" can rip off "The Godfather," then so can I.
I know I saw both "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers" at some point in my life, but I can barely remember anything that happened in either of them. I remember that Robert De Niro hates Ben Stiller, and Stiller's parents are new age-y free spirits of some sort. And I think Stiller sets a house on fire in one of them, but I'm not sure.
Clearly I don't really care about this movie franchise, and now there's a whole new addition for me to not care about! "Little Fockers" continues the story of this mismatched blended family, and this time there are kids involved. (Did they have kids in the second movie?) De Niro's patriarch is apparently looking for his successor as head of the family (do any families that aren't mafia families actually do this?), and after two movies together, he still doesn't think Stiller is man enough for the job. So the two grown men have to slap each other around a bit to prove…something. What it is, I certainly don't know.
The trailer is full of the typical movie nonsense that makes me concerned for the future of the craft: projectile vomiting, a dismemberment gag, rip-offs of better movies, and groan-inducing word play (do you know what word "Fockers" sounds like???). And perhaps most upsetting of all is the cast. Ben Stiller has proven time and again that he'll do nearly anything for a paycheck (with various degrees of success), but what are Robert De Niro, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner and Laura Dern doing? Other than making me weep for humanity, that is.
Also starring Owen Wilson, Teri Polo and Jessica Alba, "Little Fockers" will be a focking clown for your focking amusement on Dec. 22.