Grandma's Boy

Well, obviously some viewers didn't like this one, and that's the case with all comedies that we could compare to Grandma's Boy. I still haven't quite gotten a handle on what those viewers aren't seeing in these films that they would like to see. The typical answers are that they want something funny, something not stupid, not clichéd, and so on, but of course that doesn't tell us much, because lots of us do find these movies funny, not stupid and not clichéd.

So how do you know whether you'd like Grandma's Boy if you haven't seen it yet? It's worth noting that Adam Sandler it, it features a lot of Sandler regulars, and it's the vein of Adam Sandler comedies like Happy Gilmore (1996), The Waterboy (1998) and Little Nicky (2000). Actors like Rob Schneider, David Spade and Kevin Nealon have cameos or small parts, and it's also not off base to compare Grandma's Boy to the Deuce Bigalow movies (1999 & 2005), or Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003). Chances are that if you like "those kinds" of movies, you'll find a lot to appreciate in Grandma's Boy, too, and if you don't like those kinds of movies, you should know (or should have known) to stay away from this one.

Of course Grandma's Boy is exaggerated and not realistic and even ridiculous and absurd at times. That's part of this subgenre of comedy, along with an ever-present irreverence and regular jabs of "crudeness" that work because at least in theory, they tend to appear when you least expect them. The idea at this point isn't to top the irreverence and crudeness of previous films, because to do that a filmmaker would basically have to resort to doing various illegal things in front of the camera. The name of the game is to give the false impression that maybe you're going to play things straighter this time around, so that the crazy stuff works in context. Director Nicholaus Goossen shows that he understands this well.

Grandma's Boy is about game designers, which by extension makes it about geeks and nerds. This may not be how most game designers (or most grandparents and their friends) really are, but this isn't a documentary, it's a very funny comedy, and this is at least about how those of us who aren't in the business imagine or want them to be. That's part of what makes comedy work--it has exaggerated, fantasy elements by way of caricatures/grotesques of (stereo)types that exist at least in popular, contemporary "mythology".

There are plenty of gags that people who like these sorts of comedies will remember for a very long time. They arrive about once every two or three minutes at least--just enough time to wipe away your laughter tears from the last gag. You can't get a much better recommendation than that. And if you know you don't like these kinds of films, please, do yourself a favor and just avoid this one, too.

Watching this movie, was like watching some good Adam Sandler comedy. But beats out all the new stuff he is in now a days with some really funny jokes that are over the top, although it might seem like a Adam Sandler style of humor, this movie takes the cake when it comes to being over the top with jokes. There are already a lot of stoner comedies out there and although this movie does have a bit of that stoner comedy, most of the jokes revolves around comedy for gamers. Gamers will get a lot of laughs out of this movie, even non gamers will probably find themselves chuckling during certain scenes of the movie. Although there are a lot of random stuff thrown in this movie, I could not help but find just about every scene in this movie hysterical, in a good way. Most of the characters just want to have a good time with Alex who is the protagonist of the movie while he stays at his grandma's house, after getting kicked out after his roommate spent all the rent money on Filipino hookers, but also has to deal with some Matrix obsessed game designer who hates Alex with a passion, and tries to ruin his career and steal the girl he fell for. Although it may seem a bit cliché, the way the characters go about it adds a lot of entertainment value, although some may find comedies like this one vulgar those that do enjoy it will have a fun time watching it, although it's not groundbreaking.

7.5/10

If you go into this movie expecting a sophisticated plot, dramatic characters, or heartfelt moments, you will be very, very disappointed. On the other hand, if you don't care whether a movie has a plot, as long as it's funny, Grandma's Boy will definitely satisfy. With plenty of stupid and silly moments (the Lara Croft scene is hilarious) and one-liners, most fans of "stupid humor" will enjoy themselves. If you're an uptight, stick-up-the-butt type, you will likely curse the day you saw it. Stay home and eat Cheetos if you take dumb comedies that seriously.

No, it's not perfect. The "robot" kid is freaking annoying, and some of the gross stuff feels forced. But ah...what are you gonna do? Better than watching another painful romantic comedy, right?

A middle-aged video game tester is forced to live with his grandmother to make ends meet. He falls for a female video game employee, but he's in conflict with the biggest nerd of all: his boss.

I was happy to see Linda Cardellini after my recent run of watching "Freaks and Geeks", but she doesn't seem to be the same. Blond and set to be the girlfriend and nothing more in the film, this is quite the step down from her leading role. Nice to see her just the same.

I had no idea what this film was about, but didn't expect much. When I found it to be a funny film, with Adam Sandler connected to it (but not appearing in it), I was very pleased. I'm not very interested in drug humor, and there is plenty of that, but there's enough other stuff to make the drug references not completely overwhelming.

If you're into comedies like those with Adam Sandler, this is probably a good choice. I found that it had more heart than the "American Pie" films or anything with Will Ferrell.

First and foremost, I only gave this movie a 9 to out weigh all the 1s that morons are giving it, I believe that it truly deserves about a 6.5-7.0 (currently it has a 5.5 with 87 votes). Look this is a funny movie, it's not ground breaking and it is certainly low-brow but it's actually quite enjoyable. The critics are trying to make it into the worst movie of the new year, which is sad because, in my opinion, it's as funny as anything that came out last year, including wedding crashers (although wedding crashers, I'll admit is a better film). The story relies on comedy to get by, the plot bobs and weaves, sometimes awkwardly, in the name of telling a joke rather than flowing an interesting plot line, that said, I enjoy the filmmaker's willingness to disregard any attempt to make the story realistic or to make the transitions genuine. The flow of the story seems as if it is constructed in an alternate universe where random parties come together with ease, while it may sound as if I'm being sarcastic I'm certainly not, I believe that most movie transitions are simply labored and lame attempts to get from point A to point B, they just jump almost directly to what they want to do next in Grandma's Boy ala the first Wayne's World, which keeps the movie from sagging. All and all, I believe this is a great comedy, it's certainly not for those with high brow taste, remember, critics typically like comedies like Sideways and Broken Flowers, movies that, while entertaining, find it difficult to make a young person laugh. If you liked There's Something About Mary and previous Sandler films, with the exceptions of Spanglish and Punch Drunk Love, you will enjoy Grandma's Boy.