„They thought it was too close”. Ben Stiller confirmed that the creators of Meet the Fockers found a real person named Focker in order to avoid the R-rating
Meet the Fockers would have had a serious problem if the filmmakers had failed to find a real person named Focker, as there were plans to give an R rating to the comedy.
The series started by the movie Meet the Parents with Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro are well-liked family comedies that whole families sit down to watch. However, there was a risk that one part, Meet the Fockers, would receive an age rating high enough that only mature viewers could watch it, and one inconspicuous element – the name of the main character and his parents in the title – would lead to this.
Ben Stiller, taking part in the Hot Ones program, confirmed that the name Focker in the title proved to be a problem because it sounds too similar to the vulgar word “fu*ker.” Because of this, the MPA (then still the MPAA) wanted to give the comedy an age category of R, meaning that people under 17 could only watch the film in the presence of a parent or adult guardian. Such an age category would certainly not encourage families to watch the movie with their children.
The creators did not want to allow Meet the Fockers to receive such an age category, so they had to find a real person with the last name Focker to prevent this.
Is it true that the Motion Picture Association would not allow for the name Focker unless the filmmakers could prove that there was actually someone with that surname?
I think that is true. Yeah. It was a PG-13 and they thought it was too close to “fu*ker.” Yes. They have to, they have to clear names sometimes.… I don't understand how it works legally, honestly, but something like that did happen.
An age rating R for a family comedy would be a problem, as this one couldn't reach its target audience and would severely limit its reach. Meet the Fockers would then not have earned the $522 million it collected in box-office (via Box Office Mojo) and wouldn’t be such a hit.