In more ways than one, a directed by Steven Spielberg, with Jim Carrey playing the lead role. However, when it later went to Jay Roach after Spielberg and Carrey dropped out of the project, Ben Stiller was taken aboard to play the iconic main character, Greg Focker.

When the film premiered in October 2000, it was an instant hit, raking in over $330 million against a budget of $55 million. Its success spawned two sequels, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers, and even inspired television shows like Meet the Folks. Despite its success, Meet the Parents has never been remade. However, after watching one Robert De Niro movie, I cannot help but question whether it is a remake of Meet the Parents.

About My Father Has So Much In Common With Meet The Parents

The Two Films Share Many Narrative & Thematic Parallels

Director Laura Terruso's About My Father is a standalone film. However, it is hard not to notice how much it has in common with Meet the Parents. Although Meet the Parents is mostly fictional, while About My Father is loosely based on Sebastian Maniscalco's relationship with his father, both films feature protagonists who must spend a weekend with their love interest's parents. Unfortunately for them, things initially take a disastrous turn when their efforts to impress their parents are often in vain.

Like Meet the Parents' Greg Focker struggles to find his place in the Byrnes' circle of trust after his girlfriend's father makes him go through several humiliating tests, About My Father’s Sebastian Maniscalco faces his own set of challenges while trying to adapt to his girlfriend's family's lifestyle. About My Father's Sebastian Maniscalco also takes his father, Salvo, with him for the weekend with his girlfriend's family.

His father's traditional Italian (Sicilian) American ways further complicate things because it leads to a major clash between two cultures, convincing the families they may have nothing in common. This plot detail makes About My Father more of a combination of Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. However, ultimately, in both movie narratives, the families find some common ground after they choose to bury their differences and accept one another.

About My Father Puts Robert De Niro In The Opposite Role To Meet The Parents

Robert De Niro Shines As Both Characters In The Two Films

Interestingly, Robert De Niro plays leading roles in About My Father and Meet The Parents, but portrays contrasting roles in both. While he is the main character's romantic interest's stern father in Meet the Parents, he is Sebastian Maniscalco's easy-going father in About My Father. The ease with which Robert De Niro plays both characters in the two similar films puts his acting forte and versatility on full display. Unfortunately, despite having so much in common with Meet the Parents and even featuring Robert De Niro as one of its leads, About My Father failed critically and commercially.