BAD GRANDPA – The Review

Time for a twist on the standard raucous “frat-boy” type comedy. But the twist isn’t really all that new. It’s the old hidden camera “let’s make the everyday folks squirm” gag film. For it’s legacy we have to go back to the programs of Mr. Allen Funt. He began with a radio show entitled “Candid Microphone” which the new tech soon became “Candid Camera”, a long-running TV hit that he co-hosted on CBS. Then he too, made it to the movies with 1970’s X-rated (but really pretty tame) WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A NAKED LADY? More recently Sacha Baron Cohen expanded his British TV stunts with the feature films BORAT, BRUNO, and for several scenes of THE DICTATOR. But over in the states, Johnny Knoxsville and his band of merry pranksters ruled MTV with “Jackass”. While most of the bits concerned painful gags amongst each other, often they would act out their scenes in front of an unsuspecting public. Of course they had to break out of the tube and into the multiplexes with a series a features films, the most recent being 2010’s JACKASS 3D. Well, it seems that Mr. Knoxville has become a real actor with roles in THE LAST STAND and THE RINGER and can’t join in on the hidden camera stuff. He’s too famous…but, if he’s disguised?! So for a few sequences in their 3D opus, he donned old age make-up and become octogenarian Irving Zisman who indulges in all manner of inappropriate behavior. So, now Johnny’s doing a whole film that character. And he’s concocted an honest-to-goodness plot on which to hang the stunts. Time to hit the road with a very BAD GRANDPA.

As the film opens, the hard-partyin’ mother of 8 year-old Billy (Jackson Nicoll) is headed to the slammer once more. Meanwhile his granddad Irving (Knoxville) is a single man at long alst. His wife of many decades has passed and he’s ready for action. But at the funeral Billy’s mom implores Irving to take his grandson across the country to live with his father, a doper who’s not seen his kid for years but needs that $600 in child support. And so, much to Irving’s frustration, the two hit the road in his Lincoln Continental going from Nebraska to North Carolina with countless stops along the way, while horrifying the proud, simple folk of the nation’s heartland.

No matter how inventive the stunts and gags, they all depend on the actors to sell the situations and Knoxville is more than up to the task. His strength is, for lack of a better phrase, total committment. He really sells himself as this old duffer. Oh and the improv tests! There’s no real script for what the bystanders will do or say, so Knoxville must have a keen observing eye and lightning fast improvisational skills. Yes, the physical slapstick is inventive (just marvelous mechanical devices and make-ups!). but Zisman is a funny creation, an ageless, shameless horndog. Luckily he’s got a great foil/straight-man in the cherubic Nicholl who’s quick with a mischievous grin. He too has some great lines, but in his solo street scenes I wondered if he might have an earpiece relaying the coarse comments. Still, the las is a natural! They’re terrific as are most of the pranks. Luckily the many TV spots don’t give away all the good stuff (and I won’t either, but here’s a couple hints: the diner and the strip club). The film’s only problems are the slap-dash attempts to paste together the set piece stunts. Usually there’s a bit of voice-over dialogue as the big Lincoln pulls into another burg (“You hungry, Billy? I’ve got a plan!”). Also, he attempts at pathos are sometimes heavy-handed. Often I feared for some of the actors in many of the real situations: Billy talking to strangers on the street and later, Billy’s pop antagonizing some truly scary bikers. Ah, but when it works! The flick delivers some of the biggest, gut-busting laughs of any of this year’s comedy blockbusters. For the most part, you’ll have a real, raunchy good time with this BAD GRANDPA.

3.5 Out of 5