One Of Ben Stiller's Best Roles Came In A Surprise Remake
Determining Ben Stiller's best role is no easy task, as the prolific performer has more than a few borderline iconic characters to his name. Tony Perkis in "Heavyweights," Mr. Furious in "Mystery Men," White Goodman in "Dodgeball," Chas Tenenbaum in "The Royal Tenenbaums," Tugg Speedman in "Tropic Thunder," the titular Derek "Zoolander," and Ted Stroehmann in "There's Something About Mary" are all characters that feel synonymous with Stiller, and roles that no one else but him could pull off. And then there's Greg Focker in "Meet the Parents," a role Stiller has played in three different films, the lovable everyman who can't seem to impress his overbearing father-in-law Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro). For as much as Stiller has made a name for himself with distinctive characters like Hal the Orderly Guy in "Happy Gilmore," his genuine charm allowed him to flourish in relatable roles, with Greg arguably the best example of this.
Who among us hasn't been anxious about meeting our in-laws? At least for the majority, the worst thing that happens is we realize our in-laws have weird politics or don't understand the concept of "inside thoughts," but for Greg Focker? Oh, buddy. I can't believe you made it out alive. Directed by Jay Roach from a screenplay by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg, "Meet the Parents" is a comedy centered around the nightmarish introduction of Greg Focker to his girlfriend Pam's (Teri Polo) family during the weekend of her sister's wedding. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, from minor, backhanded comments to burning down a hand-carved wedding altar, and even getting arrested for suspicion of domestic terrorism on a flight.
But did you know that "Meet the Parents" is a remake of a forgotten film from 1992 that never made the jump beyond VHS?
Meet the Parents (1992) is a somewhat lost film
If you look at the credits of 2000's "Meet the Parents," you might notice that Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke were given a "story by" credit. This is because the duo wrote the screenplay for "Meet the Parents" (1992), with Glienna also serving as the director and leading role, Greg. The film was shot for approximately $100,000 and was only released in limited markets. One of the biggest claims to fame for the film was that musician and comedian Emo Philips served as an associate producer, as well as provided the film's theme song (with Mary Louise Herrold on vocals) and had a small cameo as a video store employee. No one really saw "Meet the Parents" when it came out, but the critics who did see the film spoke highly of it, like Raindance Film Festival Founder Elliot Grove who said the film was, "much funnier and tighter than the Hollywood version."
"Meet the Parents" was given a small home video release on VHS, where the film has essentially languished as "lost media." Universal bought the rights with the intention of remaking it and has reportedly not allowed Glienna to re-release the film in any format, but he has occasionally uploaded it to YouTube where it is then immediately pulled down due to a copyright strike. Fortunately, some ... let's call them "unofficial preservationists" have made the film available online (if you know where to look, wink wink). While 1992's "Meet the Parents" is noticeably low-budget and doesn't have A-list Hollywood talent on screen, it's very easy to see why a studio would want to scoop up the idea for themselves. It's a hilarious worst-case-scenario film cranked to 11, but given the film's context, it also makes sense why Universal would want to distance itself from the original film.
The original Meet the Parents is way darker
In 2000's "Meet the Parents," Greg knocks over an urn, sets a fire, floods a yard with sewage, gives a bride a broken nose and black eye, destroys a wedding gown, and of course falls into the embarrassing and quotable dinnertime discussion about milking Robert De Niro. Sure, this stuff all sucks but it's ultimately temporary. Altars can be rebuilt, noses heal, dresses can be purchased, and sewage can be drained away, and these events are only exacerbated by happening in such close sequence to one another.
Meanwhile, "Meet the Parents" 1992 takes no prisoners and goes to some supremely dark places. So, uh, spoiler alert for a movie that is super hard to find.
The film is set up as a cautionary tale told by a gas station attendant, almost like watching the re-enactment of a campfire tale. Greg's shortcomings include renting a movie starring Andy Griffith where he turns out to be a chainsaw-murdering rapist, stabs his would-be mother-in-law in the eye with a fishing pole, accidentally drowns the family dog in a game of fetch, is wrongfully accused of cheating on his fiance, is named as the reason his would-be sister-in-law HANGS HERSELF, and then the father-in-law accidentally kills his wife and daughter while trying to attack Greg.
Meaning, the entire Burns Family is dead by the end of the weekend.
It's a shame that Universal has essentially locked this film in a vault because it is a truly wild artifact of early 1990s comedy, and I truly don't think that it would hurt the "brand" of the film to know this was the source material. After all, "Hairspray: The Musical" lives perfectly alongside John Waters' original film, and if you ask me, a family-friendly musical serving as the gateway to the Pope of Filth is a net positive.