Q&A

How far would you go to make a good impression?

I watched Meet the Parents tonight at Ricky's house, which was a first for his dad and maybe the fourth time I've seen it. Ricky's biggest complaint about it is that Ben Stiller's character is just constantly digging himself into a hole by lying to the family, because he wants to make a good enough impression on a group of people that could potentially be his in-laws. When we were watching the movies, he would shake his head when Stiller would blatantly lie and when his girlfriend would throw him under the bus by calling him out on things. It sounds really easy to be honest in that sort of situation, but when you're actually in that position, it probably is really hard to be completely honest.

You're trying to fit into a group that you don't really know anything about, except that your friend/significant other/whoever genuinely cares for them, so you want to try your best to appease them. First impressions say a lot about a person, and if you miss that moment, you get put into the spot of "oh, yeah, that guy".

I'll be the first to admit that I like to show my good/better sides when I'm first meeting someone, because I want to make a good impression. I don't shout at them my love for video games, Nintendo in general, manga & anime, or how I'm just an overall weirdo with all of these quirky traits. Instead, I try acting more "normal" and still retain a smidge of my sense of humor until I feel comfortable enough to mention things I actually like.

True, Stiller's character was in the wrong for lying, but there were plenty of people as equally in the wrong as he was. The girl's family could have been a lot more open and friendly, rather than a clique-y sort of group that is so tight knit that it's members exclusive only.

As much as I hate the characters' choices throughout the movie, I can almost empathize. Seriously, who wouldn't be intimidated by Robert De Niro being your potential father-in-law??

"Some things, however, are true no matter how hard you might try to block them out. A lie is always a lie, no matter how prettily told. Some doors, once they're opened, can never be closed again, just as trust, once it's been lost, can never be won back." (Alice Hoffman)