After sharing a glimpse of Ariana Grande taking the infamous Meet the Parents lie detector test, Universal Pictures dropped the first trailer for Focker-in-Law, the fourth film in the franchise, late Wednesday (April 15).
The trailer introduces Grande’s character Olivia Jones, a lovable former FBI negotiator who’s meeting her boyfriend Henry Focker’s (Skylar Gisondo) family for the first time. The video opens with the same scene as Tuesday’s teaser, with Grande in the hot seat and hooked up to a polygraph test administered by none other than Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), the tough-to-impress, untrusting patriarch from the original 2000 Meet the Parents film. As Byrnes’ questions begin to heat up, Olivia’s potential future father-in-law, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), walks into the room.
“Would you like to ask me some questions, Greg?” Olivia asks her boyfriend’s dad.
“Do you think I hold Henry emotionally hostage?” Greg quickly retorts.
“I mean, yeah. You call him ‘Wee Wee,’” Olivia replies truthfully. “What is that? Like a joke about his wee wee?”
The trailer continues with Grande’s character fitting in easily with the Focker family as she charms them with her impressive career, ability to win over their scary German shepherd, and hostage negotiation skills.
“I pull the strings of the hostage takers, like strategic emotional puppetry,” Olivia explains to Henry’s family during one dinner scene. “That’s how I’m gonna free Henry from you, Greg.”
While the rest of the family is immediately taken with Olivia, Greg is not convinced. The two spend the rest of the trailer embroiled in a hilarious back-and-forth as Greg does everything in his power to one-up Olivia and expose her emotionally manipulative ways that only he sees.
Focker-in-Law is Grande’s first film since the two-part 2024 and 2025 Wicked movies, the first of which earned the pop star her first Academy Award nomination. The Grammy winner’s other acting credits include the 2021 Netflix film Don’t Look Up, the Ryan Murphy series Scream Queens and Nickelodeon’s Victorious and the spin-off Sam & Cat.
Focker-in-Law hits theaters Nov. 25. Watch the trailer below.
