Ben Stiller has made a surprising admission about the Meet the parents franchise, confessing that the series lost its way during its third installment while preparing fans for the upcoming sequel, Father-in-law.
Ahead of the new film’s release in theaters on Nov. 25, the Emmy-winning actor took to social media to take viewers away from the 2010s. Little idiots.
When a fan asked if it was necessary to see the entire catalog to enjoy the fourth film, Stiller was remarkably blunt and told them “No!” and clarifying that he personally only defends the first two films in the series.
The actor’s candid comments specifically threw the third film under the bus, though he offered a diplomatic “We always tried. Totally,” when asked exactly what went wrong with that project.
The confession came just hours after Stiller and his legendary co-star Robert De Niro appeared at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to drum up hype for Universal’s new sequel.
The duo presented the first trailer for Father-in-lawwhich shifts the focus to Greg and Pam’s grown children, played by Skyler Gisondo and Beanie Feldstein.
The plot of the new film revolves around the upcoming wedding of Greg’s son, Henry, to a newcomer named Olivia, played by pop superstar Ariana Grande.
True to the series’ roots, suspect Jack Byrnes is back with his infamous lie detector test. While Olivia manages to pass and earn her initial place in the “circle of trust,” she still manages to annoy her future father-in-law, Greg.
Experts suggest that despite passing Jack’s test, there’s a lot more to the bride-to-be than meets the eye, promising the kind of family friction that made the original 2000 film a hit.
By distancing himself from the poorly received third chapter, Stiller seems to indicate a return to the quality of the previous films, specifically the original. Meet the parents and its follow-up in 2004, Meet the Fockers.
With a cast that combines the original heavyweights with new stars like Grande and Feldstein, the studio clearly hopes to recapture the magic of the franchise’s heyday.
For fans who were disappointed by previous sequels, Stiller’s refreshing honesty might be enough to regain their confidence before The Fockers returns to the big screen in November.
