Grandpa's got a brand new bag---Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) must take his grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) to his dad in Bad Grandpa
Bad Grandpa is a hard film to review. It is one of those films where I can only judge the film on if I laughed or not. If I judge the film on quality, style, filmmaking, ETC then I'll be accused of trying too hard. This is also a hard film to review because in order to explain why I barely laughed at it...I will have to discuss quality and filmmaking aspects---specifically plot. Unlike the other Jackass films...Bad Grandpa attempts to hone in on a plot. The pleasure of the Jackass films were seeing a bunch of dumb guys practically kill one another as well as themselves. Sure---it's an incredibly acquired taste but I laughed at those films. With Bad Grandpa....the pleasure is gone. Don't get me wrong...I laughed at some individual moments but not enough. Also----there was no one thing that stood out as particularly funny to me in Bad Grandpa a la the car rental scene in the first Jackass.
The film stars Johnny Knoxville as Irving Zisman who, through a series of events, has to take his grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) on a road trip to reunite with his father. Sure...this plot, as described, seems like a thin layer of nothing in order to get to the pranks and mishaps. However, they devote a good amount of time at the beginning and end to the plot. This is arguably the most detrimental flaw of the film. If you're going to make a film where the plot doesn't mean anything...don't spend around 30 minutes on said plot.
Although I had to compare films...I have to compare this with Borat seeing as that's where this film is taking a lot of lessons from. However, Bad Grandpa is no Borat for many reasons. First---Borat had something to say about society while Bad Grandpa does not. I wasn't asking for a lesson about society in a film starring Knoxville in old man make up pooping on a wall. However, it would have helped quite a bit. Second----not many people watched "Da Ali G Show" before Borat came out so it was believable that the reactions were people's real reactions. Jackass 3D set a then fall opening weekend record so the fact that the reactions in Bad Grandpa are supposed to be natural is totally unbelievable. Third-----Borat didn't do anything too extreme while Irving does things that would surely get him thrown in jail or killed. Lastly----Borat is still one of the funniest and smartest films I have ever seen while Bad Grandpa is dumb and 99% of the jokes fall flat.
I can't say I didn't laugh a couple of times. There are a few funny scenes but nothing that really made me do anything more than chuckle. Nicoll is perfectly cast and having worked with Knoxville on the god awful Fun Size a year ago....their chemistry is very realistic. However, it's just not that funny at all. Knoxville is convincing but this is definitive proof that a little bit of Irving goes a very long way.
(1 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong crude and sexual content throughout, language, some graphic nudity and brief drug use)
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