Meet the Parentsis a rarity in film: not only did it stayon top of the box officeduring the majority of its theatrical run, but it’s also managed to work its way into pop culture (If you’ve ever heard your friends say, “I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?”, then you have this film to thank.) Part ofMeet the Parents’success can be chalked up to the comedic chemistry betweenBen Stiller’s Greg Focker andRobert De Niro’s Jack Byrnes, as Greg tries (and repeatedly fails) to win Jack’s approval. (In fact,a new sequel toMeet the Parentswas just announced with Stiller, De Niro,Teri Polo, andBlythe Dannerall returning.) Most of it lies in how the film takes a hilarious, yet surprisingly insightful look into how family dynamics change when people get married. ButMeet the Parentsdefinitely owes its success to the fact thatit’s a remake of a 1992 film of the same name. Yes,Meet the Parentsis a remake — and its inspiration is surprisingly dark.
The Original ‘Meet the Parents’ Was Far Different – and Darker – Than Its 2000 Version
LikeJay Roach’s take on the material, the1992 version ofMeet the Parentsfeatures a guy named Greg (Greg Glienna) traveling to Indiana to meet his fiancé Pam’s (Jacqueline Cahill) parents. But Glienna — who also co-wrote and directed the film — takes his version ofMeet the Parentsin a very dark direction. Not only does he mistakenly rent a film that features a chainsaw-wielding serial killer, but he also stumbles into the room of his sister-in-law Fay (Mary Ruth Clarke). The real kicker comes towards the end of the film, where Greg finds himself unsuccessfully trying to convince his fiancé to leave; after Fay ends up hanging herself, Pam’s father, Irv (Dick Galloway), discovers a note with her that says “Greg kills me,“then rushes downstairs and fires a gun at Greg!If that wasn’t shocking enough, it turns out that the entire story was being told to a young couple by a gas station attendant, who reveals that Irv ended up killing Pam and his wife Kay (Carol Whelan), then suffering a fatal heart attack.
Such a wild ending would have at least given the originalMeet the Parentsa spot in thehalls of black comedy. While it didreceive glowing reviews, it wasn’t so lucky at the box office, as it had a budget ofroughly $35,000 dollars. But it did wind up catching the attention ofSteven Soderbergh, who sought toremake the film in 1995. Soderbergh would eventually depart the remake to helmOut of Sight, with Universal Pictures snapping up the rights.
Ben Stiller’s ‘Meet the Parents’ Expanded Upon the Original Movie’s Material
To reworkMeet the Parents, Universal tapped screenwriterJim Herzfeld, who greatly expanded upon the film. Later on,Jay Roach(who helmed the first twoAustin Powersfilms) was brought on to direct. But Roach almost never came close to directing; while Herzfeld was working on the script,Steven Spielbergshowed interest in directing, withJim Carreyin the lead role.Carrey even came up with the Fockersin a creative meeting. Eventually, Roach did secure the directing gig, and screenwriterJohn Hamburghammered the film into its final shapeonce De Niro and Stiller were on board.The end result was a comedy classic, a box office success, and gave birth to a franchise with sequelsMeet the FockersandLittle Fockers(and the fourth currently in the works).
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But if there’s one person who hasn’t benefitted from the success ofMeet the Parents, it’s Greg Glienna.Universal has barred him from showing the original film, even going so far as to interfere with his attempts to upload the film to his own personal YouTube channel. It’s baffling, since the De Niro/Stiller version wouldn’t exist without Glienna’s film, and Glienna even expressed his bewilderment in an interview withLittle White Lies:
I don’t know why but they just will not let me show it. I just wish I had a lawyer who knew what he was doing at the time and would have made that clear to me. My lawyer back then didn’t separate the film and the script in the contract, so the wording of it means when they bought the script they bought the film.
Meet the Parentsis the rare example of a remake that not only works, but surpassed its original form — which is ironic, given Universal’s attempts to bury the original film. Hopefully the studio changes its mind, or works out a deal as the original is begging to be seen for its black comedy potential alone.
Meet the Parentsis available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.
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Meet the Parents
