We continue with the 2000s throwbacks for this week’s Executive Decision…

Let me guess. You’ve just gotten home from your 9-5 and are itching for a Netflix-themed escape. But what to watch? How much effort are you willing to exert to scour the depths of your streaming services, to find that one movie that’ll help you pass the rest of hump day? It’s a weekly struggle we all find ourselves facing in the LWA office, but luckily for you, we compile the fruits of those labours for you in the form of five crudely put together reasons AKA Executive Decision.

Last week was the 2003 classic School of Rock, and today, we’re venturing right to the start of the Millenia, as we turn our gaze to the 2000s classic Meet the Parents. Starring Ben Stiller, the GOAT Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Owen Wilson and more, the film is an easy-going comedy about Greg Focker’s (played by Stiller) meeting of his future in-laws Jack and Pamela Byrne (played by De Niro and Polo) over a weekend and all the shenanigans that result along the way. Uncomfortable dinner scenes, unintentional roasts and Stiller being a comedic genius, the film manages to hold up more than 20 years later, and as a result, it’s getting our affections today.

And so, we’ve done the hard work for you. You’re jumping on Netflix and chucking on the Ben Stiller classic Meet the Parents tonight. Thank us later:

The ‘Circle of Trust’

Robert De Niro’s ‘Circle of Trust’ is something of a staple in Meet the Parents, the metaphorical family enclave constantly referred to throughout the hour and 48-minute runtime. Of course, Stiller’s character is on the outs of it for pretty much the whole flick, and once De Niro finds a marijuana pipe he thinks is his future son-in-law’s, well, we’ll let the clip below do the talking:

The dinner scenes

Family dinners are no doubt a chaotic affair, the mixing of generations and opposing values almost always resulting in some form of passive-aggressive confrontation. The dinners in Meet the Parents dial all of the above up to 11, and things are beyond tense when Greg is forced to say Grace (still one of the best table blessings we’ve ever seen tbh) before dinner. Enjoy:

An accurate portrayal of the airline boarding process

No doubt with the closure of international borders for the past two years, we’ve all missed the thrill of boarding a plane and getting the hell out of dodge for a couple of weeks. One part of it all that we definitely didn’t miss however is the airline boarding process. From the airport personnel on a power trip to the inevitable bag-check that we’ve all lost luggage to at one point or another, this scene covers it all. And when Focker loses his shit at the hostess, well, you can’t really blame him:

Unintentional roasts

There’s no question that nothing hits harder than an unintentional burn at family gatherings, the off the cuff digs almost always managing to hit you right to the bone. It makes it even worse when you’re not even related to the bugger doing it, and as old mate Greg Focker finds out the hard way, especially when it’s a doctor who has a thing against male nurses:

The tension between Stiller and De Niro

The degree of fear Robert De Niro’s character instils in his future son-in-law Greg Focker meets the perfect midway between hilarious and downright frightening. Picture that one old geezer teacher in high school that would get pissed at you for so much as breathing, except he’s the father of the woman you’re about to marry. De Niro embodies such an archetype to a tee, and torments the shit out of Focker to his heart’s content, going so far as asking him about his porn-viewing habits while under a polygraph. Fun fact: The pair actually recreated this scene on SNL, putting a Donald Trump themed-spin on the classic encounter. We’ve linked it below under the OG for your viewing pleasure, dig in: