By ,
Published January 14, 2015
"Meet the Fockers," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Fat Albert" hit theaters this week and "The Aviator" opens wider in today's Foxlight.
Go ahead, admit it. You want to say it. It's wrong, but it's right there on the marquee at your local multiplex. Go ahead, say it with me. "Meet the Fockers." (search)
Ha. It's fun because it's naughty. Right? Anyway, it's finally arriving Wednesday just in time for the kids to scream it over and over again.
The studio went so far as to find real families with the name and offer them all a free reunion at Disney World. Focker alert, Mickey. Can any production with giant ego-sized salaries for Dustin Hoffman, La Streisand, Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller break even? You bet. This sequel will have to be pretty dreadful to keep audiences away. Even if comic high points include flushing a dog down the toilet.
At the premiere the other night, Stiller whooped it up with the crowd. And her Babs-ness glided by without saying much. Oh wait, she did toss off one captivating sound bite: "I think the world needs a few laughs."
Well now I guess we all can laugh. Thanks, Barbra. The premiere was slightly low-key. Maybe because Dustin Hoffman told Time magazine he doesn't understand all the hype for "this thing." That's playing for the team, Dusty.
Also on the list: Leo takes a flier as Howard Hughes before the long fingernails in "The Aviator." (search)
A cast of unknowns sings while the chandelier swings in Joel Schumacher's attempt to cash in on the brief musical fad with "Phantom of the Opera." (search)
And hey, hey, HEY. Does anyone care about a live-action version of a cartoon we only watched as kids because there weren't many cartoons ON? We'll see when "Fat Albert" (search) rolls into theaters.
But my money is on De Niro in "Meet the Fockers."
https://www.foxnews.com/story/the-foxlight-holiday-weekend-movies