Meet The Parents

Who knew Robert DeNiro could do comedy? Robert DeNiro, the actor who played Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver" so brilliantly there has long been a curiousity over where Bickle ended and DeNiro begins. Robert DeNiro, the artist who could portray Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull" only by becoming LaMotta in girth and temperment. Robert DeNiro, the certain genius who played Don Vito Corleone in "The Godfather, Part II" with such perfection and chilling believability that rumors remain to this day that DeNiro, in real life, is a member of organized crime.

Who knew?

All right, so there has long been evidence that DeNiro can do comedy: "The King of Comedy", "Analyze This", and "Rocky and Bullwinkle". But who knew he could do comedy and in such a way a viewer of his work has to stop and think: Why would he do anything else? He is so perfectly suited to comedy.

Take as example of this his latest, "Meet The Parents". At first glance it comes across as a deliberate redo of "The In-Laws", starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. It isn't. Owing much to DeNiro, who does a comedic turn that, given fairness, is comparable to the works of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. (Think, respectively: "The General" and "City Lights".)

But since "Meet The Parents" is a Ben Stiller vehicle you may not notice DeNiro's tour de force. Of course, given Stiller, unlike his father Jerry, isn't funny you are almost obligated to focus instead on DeNiro.

I said: Almost obligated. But not really, owing to DeNiro's subtle style of comedy, reminiscient of Spencer Tracy in "Pat and Mike", Jimmy Stewart in "It's A Wonderful Life", Cary Grant in "Bringing Up Baby": which encourages you to come along with the slightest of effort: Almost all body language: Raised eyebrows, deep frowns, long pauses. And when he speaks it isn't vicious or mean-spirited comedy like Stiller's, which relies heavily on scatological elements.

To get a better appreciation of DeNiro's work here it helps to look to the screenplay, credited to Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg, who apparently knew at some point DeNiro would play Jack Byrnes, and who subsequently wrote the comedy aspects of the movie in such a way that small gags will certainly lead to big laughs stemming from DeNiro's efforts. Take as example the scene in which Greg Focker (Stiller) claims to have milked a cat.

Why would anyone milk a cat? And what would happen when they do? It is a small aside that builds and builds to laughs predicated from blatant lies. Lies that Jack (DeNiro) uses to build even bigger laughs with. And which go to show a certain cleverness about "Meet The Parents": Stiller is supposed to be the lead and DeNiro the second banana, but it is DeNiro who is the lead and Stiller who ends up the second banana.

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