Review: 'Little Fockers'

A few new jokes, same old Fockers.

The test of wills between Jack Byrnes (Robert DeNiro) and Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) escalates to new heights. It has taken 10 years, two little Fockers with wife Pam (Teri Polo) and countless hurdles for Greg to finally get "in" with his tightly wound father-in-law, Jack. After the cash-strapped dad takes a job moonlighting for a drug company however, Jack's suspicions about his favorite male nurse come roaring back. When Greg and Pam's entire clan, including Pam's lovelorn ex, Kevin (Owen Wilson), descends for the twins' birthday party, Greg must prove to the skeptical Jack that he's fully capable as the man of the house. But with all the misunderstandings, spying and covert missions, will Greg pass Jack's final test and become the family's next patriarch -- or will the circle of trust be broken for good?

We've seen it twice before where Greg seems to put himself in the awkward position of needing to defend himself and his intentions. Each time before, there has been laughs at his unlikely situation and what he does to get in and out of it. However, this formula worked the first time and only partially the second. This time around might have just been too much. Although there are plenty of comedic moments that might even make you laugh out loud, there just aren't enough to carry the movie.

At one point, Jack is so sure Greg is up to no good, he snoops through his belongings and finds a new drug Greg has been charged with promoting in a closet. The new drug is for erectile dysfunction and because Jack's wife just happened to be feeling extra frisky, Jack takes the pill for a little… pick-me-up so to speak. Unfortunately Jack has a bad reaction to the drug and is cursed with side-effects lasting over four hours. Greg comes to the rescue providing an adrenaline injection directly into the affected body part, just as Greg's son walks in on them. It's moments like this that are few and far between. I wouldn't mind it so much if the story didn't just feel like the same old song we've seen twice before, hardly refreshed and hardly any different, making it hardly worth it.

2 out of 4 Buckets