In 'Fockers,' adults are juvenile

The two children of Gaylord "Greg" Focker don't appear much in "Little Fockers," a film whose title is its best idea. It is also good marketing. Nobody wants to see "Meet the Parents 3: Yet Again," but how about something like "Son of Focker"? You're hooked!

Instead of tykes, however, it's adults making pee-pee and woo-woo jokes. You will see or hear about vomit, catheters, flatulence and erections. When the jokes aren't crass, they're simply dumb. Is anything still funny about "The Godfather" theme? Or a Deepak Chopra cameo?

A surprise hit in 2000, "Meet the Parents" introduced Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), a nebbishy nurse who is emotionally waterboarded by ex-CIA agent Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), the father of Greg's fiancee, Pam (Teri Polo). The 2004 sequel, "Meet the Fockers," also a hit, introduced WASP-y Jack to Greg's Jewish-hippie parents, Bernie and Roz (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand). They've all reunited for film No. 3.

But "Little Fockers," with director Paul Weitz ("American Pie") replacing Jay Roach, has no driving theme. Greg and Jack trade power dynamics so often and carelessly that they lose track of their own characters. Owen Wilson returns as sun-dazed golden boy Kevin Rawley, but the role has become a familiar shtick. Hoffman and Streisand get only a few minutes to lick up script scraps. Jessica Alba, in the temptress role, is the only cast member who seems to be enjoying herself.

The original film's appeal lay in its cleverly exaggerated version of in-law family dynamics: violence, humiliation, property destruction. "Little Fockers," like a spoiled child, just shows up and expects you to appreciate it.