Search - Randy Newman :: Meet the Parents (2000 Film)

Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller may star in this twisted comedy about a young man's unfortunate relationship with his fiancée's father, but it's singer-songwriter Randy Newman who's most attuned to the sardonic side on the soundtrack. "A Fool in Love," with its wicked choir of voices taunting and Newman singing along, takes cupid's arrow and twists it ever so mercilessly. Covers of Fats Domino's "Poor Me" and Preston Foster's "Got My Mojo Working" are hard-nosed piano numbers, but mostly it's Newman leading an orchestra through his wry sense of humor. "Meet the Parents" sounds like a face-off between Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, both sneaky and climactic, while "Could You Milk Me?" comes across more defeated than defiant. (FYI, "Burning Down the House" is not the Talking Heads tune, it's an animated Newman orchestral number). Things are rounded off with R&B legend Bobby Womack's latest track, "I'm Your Puppet," and two pure slices of New Orleans: Lee Dorsey and Dr. John. --Rob O'Connor