Meet the Parents
Directed by Jay Roach
Written by Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg
Starring Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Tier Polo, Blythe Danner
Release Date October 6th, 2000
Published February 20th, 2025
2025 marks a quarter century since the release of the blockbuster comedy Meet the Parents, a film that showed audiences an entirely new comedic side to legendary tough guy actor Robert De Niro while solidifying the blockbuster stardom of Ben Stiller as a leading man. 25 years later, both De Niro and Stiller remain high profile and beloved stars with major projects still making waves. In 2025 Stiller has mostly moved behind the scenes where he’s got a hit Apple TV series, Severance. As for Mr. De Niro, he’s also gone to television with the new Netflix series, Zero Day. Thus, now seems a good time to reflect on the movie that changed both of their careers 25 years ago.
The 2000 comedy Meet the Parents was directed by Jay Roach and stars Ben Stiller as Gaylord "Greg" Focker, a nurse who is eager to propose to his girlfriend, Pam Byrnes, played by Teri Polo. However, before he can pop the question, he must first navigate the formidable obstacle of gaining the approval of Pam's father, Jack Byrnes (De Niro). Jack, a retired CIA operative, harbors a deep-seated suspicion of anyone outside the family circle, and begins using his CIA training to investigate his daughter’s new boyfriend.
