Meet the Parents

Dreamworks wisely focuses on the comedy in the Meet the Parents DVD package. The ten minutes of outtakes match the movie's silly, slapstick energy, with some unexpected goofy moments of Robert De Niro laughing at himself. The disc offers two audio commentaries. The first discussion between director Jay Roach, actors Ben Stiller and De Niro, and producer Jane Rosenthal mixes personal recollections of the filming with general joking. Not surprisingly, De Niro stays tight-lipped, even when prodded by the other participants, while Stiller happily shares every element of his experience, even the scene where he almost threw up from smoking a cigarette. The second audio track with director Roach, who also helmed Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, focuses on the technical aspects of creating comedy, from the need for short scenes to using actors' improvised business. The "Deleted Scenes" section only has five minutes of less satisfying material, and the featurette about the making of the movie contains the usual interviews with the actors and director complimenting one another.