Meet the Parents

The old age nightmare of meeting a loved one's parents is taken to new extremes with the comedy Meet the Parents, starring Ben Stiller as the hapless future son in law and Robert De Niro as the father of the woman of his affection. By all accounts it's a modestly entertaining film with De Niro seemingly enjoying some more light hearted roles after his generally serious performances in his most famous pictures. I only discovered that the score was being penned by Randy Newman after he'd started recording it, but was obviously delighted to find him attached to what appears to be an amiable comedy.

I think Randy's been trying to recapture some of the popularity that he received from I Love to See You Smile from Ron Howard's Parenthood and while A Fool in Love is a worthy effort, I don't think it'll be quite that popular. I suspect the slightly strange structure of the song makes more sense in the film, but it starts with a choir intoning the differences between men who are losers (loving and thoughtful) and men who are successful (but bland and unpleasant) and then moves into a playful rhumba with Randy singing. The brief running time is unfortunate as it's a catchy song and could quite happily go through another verse. However, those who sit through to the end of the album will find an alternative version sans choral intro, but with Randy singing and then the verse repeated, in French, but sung by Susanna Hoffs, wife of director Jay Roach. Curiously, she isn't credited anywhere on the packaging and her contribution was pointed out to me by a thoughtful reader. The two singers only join at the end, which is probably wise as Randy's voice doesn't really lend itself well to duets. Randy also gets to sing a couple of cover versions for Poor Me and Got My Mo Jo Working which actually work quite well, even if nobody in their right mind would normally ask Randy to sing anything other than his own songs.

The score itself is brief, clocking in at a skimping 22 or so minutes, but I gather there was little (if any) more music in the film in the film so we can hardly complain. Perhaps then most noticeable disappointment with Meet the Parents is that it does suffer from not being blessed with a strong main theme. The incidental melodic material is good enough, but the score doesn't hold together as well as usual. The most interesting aspect of the score is the use of the choir again, this time just singing ooh and aah. The effect is at once very striking, but I can't help wondering if it's a bit over the top, although on disc this doesn't really matter. While the Newman style is generally in evidence, there appears to be something of a Danny Elfman hint with the choral music and a little of Marc Shaiman in the more sentimental moments. A surprise on a Newman score as his style is pretty unmistakable and he rarely gives way to sounding like anyone else.

While there are some more than worthy segments, the huge choral finale to Burning Down the House being a particular highlight, Meet the Parents doesn't leave the same strong impression as the best of Randy Newman. The unavoidably short length doesn't help much either. Although, as with all the best composers, an average effort is usually better than a better effort of someone generally less than inspiring, but there are enough nice touches and typically Newman-esque moments to make it at least hearing, even if it's not likely to inspire the same repeat listens as something like Pleasantville or Avalon.