Meet the Fockers

Meet the Fockers

The 2004 film, Meet the Fockers, Greg Focker is engaged to marry Pamela Byrnes. As the wedding is approaching it is time for Pamela's parents to meet the Focker family. The two families meet and find that they are the total opposites. Mr. and Mrs. Byrnes are modest in the way they talk and very conservative, on the other hand Mr. and Mrs. Focker are more groovy and hippie style. The two cultures clash when they first meet but come together in the end (IMDB, 2011a). Meet the Fockers is full of adventure and excitement.

Meet the Fockers is a romance comedy that begins in Chicago where Pamela and Greg live. They fly to New York where her parents live then they drive together to Florida where Greg's parent's live. It is the sequel to Meet the Parents (2011b), with another movie that follows called Little Fockers (2011c) After Greg, Pamela, and Mr. and Mrs. Byrnes leave New York the story centers on Florida.

The actors in Meet the Fockers are Greg Focker, played by Ben Stiller, Bernie Focker, is played by Dustin Hoffman, Rozalin Focker, is played by Barbara Streisand, Pam Byrnes, played by Teri Polo and Dina Byrnes, played by Blythe Danner, Jack Byrnes is played by Robert De Niro, and Little Jack Jr. Byrnes played by Spencer Pickren and Bradley Pickren. Isabel Villalobos plays Alanna Ubach and Ray Santiago plays Jorge her son (IMDB.2011a).

The narrative structure centers on Greg, Pamela, both sets of parents and their up coming wedding. The plot is in chronological order from the beginning of the movie which means each event in the plot of the movie follows a sequence of order as in real time (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011). From the beginning when the two sets of parents meet, they clash and there is chaos and drama.

Jack Byrnes is an ex-CIA agent and everyone is under the microscope. He trusts no one and spies on everyone and Dina is a housewife. Pamela is a teacher and Greg is a male nurse. Bernie Focker is a retired attorney who played Mr. Mom to their son. Rozalin Focker plays a sex therapists and she is also an author of a book called Meet Your Orgasm (Ebert, 2004)

In the movie there is internal conflict between Jack and the other characters in the movie. He trusts no one and questions everyone so the conflict becomes personal for Jack. It comes down to loyalty within the family. Jack believes that if you are in his circle of trust then there are no secrets that should be kept from him.

There are many forms of symbols in the movie. The Fockers live in Florida on Focker Isle which is surrounded by water. Water is a symbol of purity, rebirth and spiritual cleansing. Bright lights are used in the different scenes which is a symbol of good character and happy situations. There is one particular scene where it is dark, a party for Pamela and Greg is taking place, which symbolizes bad characters, and dangerous or sad situations (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011).Even though the party is taking place at night and the lights are dim and dark the scenery and atmosphere is of people dancing and having a good time. A map is also used in the movie which symbolizes driving directions.

There is evidence of sexual symbols through out the movie because Rozalin is a sex therapists. There are many statues visible that exploit sexuality by showing a man's penis, woman's breasts and privates. Rozalin is very open about sex in the movie and has no problem discussing the issue with the Byrnes. She talks about sex in a humorous way. Jack and Greg wear a captain's hat while driving the RV to Florida which symbols achievement and authority. Jack being the ex-CIA agent symbolizes his position and office in his professional career ("Symbolism-hat," 2011). Others symbols in the movie are a kippah which is a Jewish hat that the priest wears.

There is situational irony present when Greg and Jack clash. Jack feels Greg is hiding a secret, that he fathered a child by Isabella. Jack sees a resemblance in the two and suspects Greg has something to hide so he takes hair follicles from him and Jorge. With his ex-CIA skills and contacts, Jack has DNA analysis done and finds out Jorge is not Greg's son. Another example of situational irony is when Greg is throwing the brick into the windshield of the RV and it bounces off and shatters the windshield his rental car. There is the use of a metaphor when Jack asks Greg if he knew what was truly important in life, meaning his legacy of grandchildren. Jack tells Greg that he can't have a "kink in his chain" when he answers "Love, I think" (IMDB.2011a). Another example of a metaphor is Jack is referred to as a "human lie detector" that sniffs out secrets due to being an ex-CIA agent. The travel trailer is also converted into a secret office, which no one is aware of, where Jack can hide and conduct business. It is also referred to a "hotel on wheels" by Dina and Bernie because they are very loving and hands on when it comes to showing love and affection toward one another and others. Rozalin is a sex therapist but she is referenced in the beginning of the movie as a yoga instructor because Greg does not want the Jack and Dina to know what his mother does for a living which is another example of the use of a metaphor in the movie.

The protagonist in the movie are Greg and Pamela, they are the main characters because the focus and plot of the movie centers on the wedding. The antagonist in the movie would be Jack because he has other plans and his actions in the movie, and they get in the way of Greg and Pamela's plans.

The movie was shot in various scenes with the plot taking place at different locations. You can tell by the actions and moves of Jack, Bernie, and Rozalin what kind of character they are playing. Jack is reserved, leery of everyone and trusts no one while Bernie and Rozalin are freestylers and carefree. Jack dresses in business attire in the movie. His attitude is strictly professional as if here were still a CIA agent while Bernie and Rozalin dress in a more relaxed style which reveals their carefree attitude. Dana, Greg, and Pamela dress simple which adds to the personality of their character. It was easy to focus on the individual characters because they played and fit into the role of their character by creating them. Jack and Greg fit into the category of wildcard actors because they each have played many different characters in their acting career (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011).

The plot and the characters drive the movie forward as each scene unfolds into the next. The actors use the dialogue to reveal their character through words and actions. Costumes allow the audience to know who the actors are portraying and strongly influence the overall look and color of a movie so they can identify with them. Costume