With 2010’s Little Fockers, we encountered a franchise at a crossroads. Would the film be more like the reasonably funny and engaging Meet the Parents or the utterly inane and puerile Meet the Fockers?

Unfortunately, the latter held true. Much more like the second film than the first, Little becomes a dispiriting mess.

10 years after Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) struggled to earn the respect and affection of his future father-in-law Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), the pair seem to stand on solid ground. Indeed, Jack thinks so highly of Greg that he may hand down the mantle of family patriarch to his son-in-law.

However, inevitable strains occur, as events lead Jack to believe his old impressions of Greg ring true. When the entire extended Focker/Byrnes clan comes to celebrate Greg and wife Pam’s (Teri Polo) twins’ birthday, Jack and Greg find themselves at odds again.

Let’s see: in Parents, Greg needed to prove himself to Jack. In Fockers, Greg needed to prove himself to Jack.

Here we are with Little, a tale in which… Greg needs to prove himself to Jack. Can’t anyone involved with these movies come up with a new plot line?

Fockers offered a curveball of sorts because it brought in two prominent new characters: Greg’s parents Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) and Roz (Barbra Streisand). While the Jack/Greg dynamic played a major role, the movie also displayed the culture clash between the ultra-liberal elder Fockers and the buttoned-down, conservative Jack.

With Little, we lack the same new energy, as it introduces no fresh characters to positively impact the franchise. As much as I disliked Fockers, at least the presence of Hoffman and Streisand added juice to the series.

Hoffman, Streisand and many of the others from the first two movies return here, but the absence of new characters becomes a liability - compelling new characters, I should say.

We do get a few new roles, mainly via Andi Garcia (Jessica Alba), a sexy pharmaceutical representative. She becomes the inevitable Other Woman who exists to create a strain in the Greg/Pam relationship.

None of this material rings true, as Andi’s presence seems predictable and trite from the second Alba enters the picture. The fact Little makes her a rep who pushes a new erectile dysfunction drug telegraphs a whole slew of jokes as well.

A good movie would find a way to subvert the seemingly inevitable boner gags, but no one involved with Little feels a desire to shoot for anything other than the utterly trite. The movie never met a comedic situation it wouldn’t milk for the cheapest of all possible cheap gags.

Honestly, most of the film’s “story” really exists to prompt those cheap gags. Little of the plot makes a lick of sense, and it feels like those involved invented slapstick scenes and then attempted to cobble a narrative around them.

This doesn’t work, and not just because the story seems so incoherent and odd. Much of the first Parents stretched reality and credulity for the sake of comedy as well.

However, Parents managed some actual laughs, and those allowed the viewer to forgive the trespasses. Because Little provokes nary a giggle, its other flaws become more prominent and problematic.

Though Little’s new actors lack the massive star power of Streisand and Hoffman, we do find a few notables here. In addition to Alba, we find Harvey Keitel, Laura Dern and pre-fame sightings of Kevin Hart and Jordan Peele.

Some of the movie’s few entertaining moments come when De Niro and Keitel butt heads. A reunion from their Mean Streets days, it boasts some fun to see those two old titans go at each other.

Otherwise, Little Fockers becomes a complete waste of film. Puerile, stupid and almost wholly devoid of entertainment value, it winds up as a terrible movie.

Little Fockers appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. This became a largely good presentation but not a great one.

Sharpness was usually very nice, but some interiors tended toward moderate softness. Though this wasn’t a significant problem, I thought some shots came across as less defined than I expected.

Jagged edges and shimmering didn’t occur, and edge enhancement remained absent. Source flaws also failed to present any problems, as the movie offered a clean image.

In terms of colors, the film favored a general golden tint along with some light teal. The hues were solid within the design parameters.

Blacks seemed deep and tight, while shadows were good, with nice clarity and smoothness. Outside of the occasional soft shot, this became a pleasing presentation.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it seemed satisfactory, though it favored a fairly typical “comedy mix” and didn’t present many chances for the soundscape to do much. This meant the track usually opted for stereo music and general environmental material.

A few bits – like on a train or at a party – opened up the track in a decent manner. These made the mix a little more involving when necessary, though these instances didn’t pop up frequently.

I thought audio quality appeared positive. Speech seemed distinctive and natural, with no rough tones or other issues.

Score and songs displayed clear, warm music, and effects functioned well. Those elements were realistic and full throughout the movie. Again, nothing here dazzled, but the mix accentuated the material in a good way.

As we shift to extras, we find plenty of cut footage. We locate an Alternate Opening (3:36), an Alternate Ending (3:15) and 10 Deleted Scenes (14:19).

The “Opening” foreshadows the ways Jack and Kevin haunt Greg, and it also sets up the romantic stresses Greg and Pam feel. The “Ending” offers a totally different finale, one that focuses on Kevin rather than the grandparents. Neither really fits the movie, though the "Ending” offers some interesting tangents.

As for the deleted scenes, one that expands the Harvey Keitel character fills the most time. While fun to see more of Keitel, it doesn’t advance the story in a meaningful way.

The rest come with some decent bits, and we get more of Kevin Hart as well as Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro together. We also see a gag in which we learn Roz can’t carry a tune, a mildly clever twist given Streisand’s vocal talents. Some of these bring decent material, but other than the short Streisand gag, they made good omissions.

A Gag Reel fills seven minutes, two seconds with the usual goofs and giggles. However, we get some improv material as well, and a long clip that pits Keitel against Ben Stiller amuses.

A few featurettes follow, and The Making of a Godfocker goes for 15 minutes, four seconds and includes comments from producers Jane Rosenthal and Jay Roach, director Paul Weitz, writer John Hamburg, executive producers Meghan Lyvers and Andrew Miano, and actors Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner, Robert De Niro, Laura Dern, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Colin Baiocchi and Daisy Tahan.

“Making” examines the franchise and the third film’s story/characters, cast and performances, and Weitz’s impact on the production. This becomes a fluffy collection of plaudits for the film and all involved.

Bob and Ben lasts four minutes, 37 seconds and involves De Niro and Stiller as they discuss their working relationship. It’s mild fun to see them chat together, but they tell us little of interest.

In a similar vein, the five-minute, 29-second Ben and Owen provides notes from Stiller and Wilson. They discuss their own relationship, one that’s lasted decades. They don’t give us many insights, but their personal connection makes the reel interesting.

Bout Time runs four minutes, two seconds and features Hamburg, Rosenthal, De Niro, Stiller, Roach, Weitz, Danner, Polo, Lyvers, Miano and Wilson. “Time” examines the movie’s climactic fight scene. It tells us little of real value.

Finally, The Focker Foot Locker occupies one minute, 40 seconds and shows a montage of the uses of “Focker”. Yawn.

Three movies into the franchise and Little Fockers finds the creative team bereft of inspiration. Tired, predictable and inane, the film squanders whatever minor audience goodwill the series still enjoyed after the awful Meet the Fockers. The Blu-ray comes with generally positive picture and audio as well as mediocre bonus materials. Little Fockers finishes the “trilogy” on a weak note.