This three-quel holds the honor of being #1 at the box office yet has the lowest critics' average, 10%, on rottentomatoes. That's a little harsh. It's worth at least a 15. Amy asked us to save The King's Speech and True Grit for her, so we were reduced to this. Jack and I expected to hate it, so were pleasantly surprised that we chuckled a few times. To save your money and time, here's what we liked (I had plenty of time to take notes): beautiful stock shots of Chicago in gorgeous high definition, a magnificent estate called a "time share" with Cadillac golf carts, Barbra's manicure (okay, only I noticed that), and some mayhem in the third act.
Director Paul Weitz (Antz (1998) and About a Boy (2002) with his brother Chris Weitz and In Good Company (2004) alone) was brought in to replace Jay Roach, who directed the first two, causing Dustin Hoffman to consider pulling out (yep, that's a double entendre. Think there are any in the movie?). Everyone and every joke just seems tired, despite the return of writer John Hamburg (co-wrote--and directed--I Love You, Man) from the last two and lots more that's good (I just learned that Meet the Parents (2000) was a remake of a 1992 independent movie of the same name, which starred director/co-writer Greg Glienna and co-writer Mary Ruth Clarke as Greg and his future mother-in-law respectively--they are credited in each of the Focker movies as having created the characters). Since Robert De Niro has been quoted as saying he'd love to make another, and the last scene suggests part four, perhaps the stars are all working for points on the gross. For a good laugh, read the quotes on the rottentomatoes link above instead of spending your time and money on this flop (uh huh).
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