It is nice that Meet the Parents has a happy ending, otherwise I would probably pan it. Generally, I am not in favor of movies in which the main character — a nice guy with a few rough edges — contributes the comedy by making a fool of himself. Perhaps such films hit too close to home.

“Greg” Focker (Ben Stiller) is a male nurse, and his sig other, Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), teaches children. They are a good couple, and Greg is anxious to propose marriage, but just as he is about to do so he is interrupted by an overheard cell phone call from which he discovers that the wise suitor would ask Pam’s dad first. So the two of them go out to the Byrnes residence for a weekend of touchie-feelie.

Unfortunately, Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro) is not a touchie-feelie type of guy. He may claim to be a specialist in rare flowers, but evidence suggests that he works for a different kind of Company entirely. He has a very obnoxious trained cat (Greg is a dog person) and considers cigarettes to be a sign of character weakness (Greg, who is almost a chain smoker, is reduced to nicotine-laced gum for the weekend). He’s the sort of person who bugs his entire house with video minicams. And he cannot believe that there is a man (using the term loosely) in the world good enough for his little girl. In short, he’s the Prospective Father-in-Law From Hell.

We are treated to drag racing down a darkened street (Greg is driving one car), a lost cat (frightened away by Greg), a major yard fire (started by Greg), a nearly aborted (by Greg) wedding of another daughter, the discovery of drug paraphernalia (in a coat Greg is wearing — never mind that the coat actually belongs to Jack’s son), and the revelation by one of Jack’s Company contacts that Greg’s touted high-scores on a male-nurse test never happened; the ultimate explanation for this last point, which shows Greg to be no liar, is perhaps even more embarassing to Greg.

The well-advertised “Focker” jokes fall pretty well short of being a dominant force in the movie. One or two reviews I read made a big thing of the antisemitic behavior on the part of Pam’s suburban friends and relatives; I watched for this in vain — born-again former boyfriend Kevin’s (Owen Wilson, late of Shanghai Noon) observation, when confronted with Greg’s Jewishness, that “J.C.” was also a Jew is the closest the movie comes, and I don’t think that really qualifies.

Light fare, amusing — if you like self-embarassment movies — and an enjoyable way of passing an hour and three quarters. You don’t need a wide screen, dolby sound, or a screaming audience to enjoy it, however; rent it on tape or DVD when it comes out.