Meet the Fockers Review

Messages: Despite vast cultural differences between people, understanding and respect for differences can lead to satisfying, close friendships. Though taken to extremes in this film, love, warmth, and openness lead to stable, long-lasting relationships.

Role models: On the plus side: good parenting is a primary goal of each of the film’s main characters. Some gender roles are turned upside down: a leading male character is a nurse; a bright, vibrant lawyer finds his true calling as a parent and househusband who is supported by his psychologist wife. On the negative side, there’s lots of stereotyping that is meant to be over-the-top and funny: Jewish people, a Latina housekeeper (beloved, but played as a broad caricature), uptight "WASP" behavior, law enforcement seen as either harsh and rigid or inept and buffoon-like.

Violence: There are a number of minor pratfalls and accidents, all intended to be funny. Some examples: a dog is flushed down the toilet (and saved within moments); a backyard football game leads to a back injury (the character recovers quickly); a member of the Focker clan is injected with sodium pentathol; a character is attacked with a stun gun and has a brief “funny” seizure. In the background of one scene, a clip of a violent moment in the film Scarface appears on a television screen.

Sex: There is no overt sexual activity, but much of the film’s humor is based on sex. Beginning with frequent wordplay on the "Focker" name, this film is filled with sexual innuendo, sexual references, humor at the expense of the characters’ sexuality, as well as discussion of sexual acts, and bodily functions. The senior Dr. Focker is a sex therapist and is introduced conducting a "sensuality class" for elderly couples. In the film’s first scene, a male nurse starts to deliver a baby. A plastic breast is worn on numerous occasions by male characters to encourage a toddler to drink his mother’s milk. An oversexed dog simulates sex with a cat, a doll, and anything else he can find.

Language: Non-stop risqué language, always for laughs. There are breast-feeding jokes, "boob" jokes, poop jokes, fart jokes, and jokes and conversations about vasectomies, virginity, masturbation, circumcisions, and more. Language includes multiple uses of "s--t" in various forms, plus "ass," "crap," "hell," etc. A baby repeatedly says "asshole" (his first word). Some typical lines are: "Is your vagina happy?" "I gave her a matinee today," and "Does she climax regularly?"

Consumerism: A few minor product placements: visuals of Sesame Street’s Elmo, a mention of Underwood Ham, and a Starbuck’s coffee sign in the background of one scene.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: Champagne, wine, and other alcoholic beverages are consumed during dinner and at some social events. A former CIA agent administers sodium pentathol (truth serum) to an unsuspecting victim.