El abuelo sinvergüenza

In a world overrun by forgettable, banal reality television, Jackass has distinguished itself as a franchise with unexpected staying power. Who would have thought that a television show about pulling pranks on unsuspecting members of the public would go on to dominate the silver screen as well? That's precisely what Johnny Knoxville and his compatriots have done, however. Bad Grandpa marks the Jackass crew's fourth foray into the realm of feature films. The movie is itself more ambitious than its predecessors, betting that one character - an apparently doddering 86-year-old man - can carry an actual plot and an enormous arsenal of pranks. Surprisingly, it's a gamble that pays off: Bad Grandpa is frequently as funny as it is in bad taste.

The ostensible plot of it all goes something like this: Irving Zisman (Knoxville) is saddled with his grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) when his flaky daughter is sent to prison and his wife Ellie (Catherine Keener - yes, really!) passes away. Resolving to palm his grandson off to his ne'er-do-well son-in-law, Irving embarks on a road trip across America - an adventure that takes them from strip club to diner, from funeral to beauty pageant, and everything in between. Along the way, they meet people from all walks of life: most of them unsuspecting, several of them kind, all of them pretty good sports.

Much of the thrill of watching Bad Grandpa comes from knowing that it is a hidden-camera comedy - one that draws its greatest laughs and amusement from people who have no clue that Irving isn't actually a senior citizen. Many of the pranks border on the tasteless (Irving gets a crucial body part caught in a vending machine, grandpa and grandson engage in a flatulence contest in a diner with disastrous results), but the horrified looks on the faces of innocent passers-by make it all work. There are even some moments of inspired comic genius: chiefly, the set-pieces that take place in a strip club and at a beauty pageant. (To spoil you any further, dear reader, would be criminal.)

It takes a pair of seasoned performers not to crack and give the game away. Knoxville, of course, has years of experience and bodily injury under his belt, and he is astonishingly good at playing a bawdy old man with very few social (and some might say moral) filters. The great surprise is Nicoll, a child with the most perfectly deadpan of faces - he's hilariously convincing whether he's asking a complete stranger to adopt him or re-enacting a scenario reminiscent of Abigail Breslin's wildly inappropriate grind-bump dance in Little Miss Sunshine.

This is - evidently - very far from great cinema, even though director Jeff Tremaine does actually manage to sneak a little more sentiment and plot into the film than you might expect. But great cinema does not always equate into a fun, brainless night out at the cinema - which Bad Grandpa, if you set your expectations as low as they can go, will almost indubitably provide you.

I've never been a Jackass fan , but "Bad Grandpa" was genuinely hilarious. There's a narrative to the movie, but really that's just an excuse for the antics. And Knoxville is on fire here. The man deserves hug credit for never cracking up in the middle of a prank, and that takes serious skill. The vending machine, the male strip club, the "shart" scene in the restaurant - they're constantly going to unbelievable lengths, and half the fun is just seeing the peoples' reactions. I had a lot of fun with this movie, a pleasant surprise indeed.

I don't know where they could take this story-wise, but count me in for a sequel.

7/10

I'm not a huge fan of the Jackass movies and am approaching 50 so maybe not in the target demographic but the trailer for the movie made us laugh so we went to see it. Most of the time I was chuckling rather than out and out belly laughing. But one scene in particular (the strip club) almost made me hyperventilate. I literally couldn't catch my breath because I was laughing so hard. It's one of the funniest scenes that I can recall ever seeing in a movie. The boy who plays the kid is excellent, he's very believable and cute and for such a young boy he does very well in what is not really a straightforward acting role. If you have the right sense of humour for this type of thing, I highly recommend it (if you're aged 14-25 and male it's a guaranteed hit). If you hate Jackass and all it represents, don't bother paying to see it in a theater, maybe wait for cable because that one scene in the strip club IS worth seeing (unless you're an overly sensitive prude!).

Bad Grandpa is a good movie with a pretty good storyline and really good performances from those who are acting.Most of the movie is hidden camera as Johnny Knoxville playing an old man is communicating with real people who have no idea they are being filmed for a movie,this works out really well and most of the scenes are full of cringe and it is impossible not to laugh.Johnny Knoxville does a very good job as Irving Zisman,he really got interested in this character and it wasn't until I saw a sign that said Knoxville towards the end of the movie that I had completely forgotten it was Knoxville,he puts on a voice very similar to Stan Lee's and play's a really convincing and strange old man from start to finish.The grandson Jackson Nicoll does a very good job as well,I found his comic timing very impressive for a boy his age.I am not a fan of Jackass but I really enjoyed this movie,though I think Jackass fans will enjoy it,it's different enough for people outside the Jackass audience to enjoy,because the humour isn't just watching people get hurt and there is also a storyline.I would recommend Bad Grandpa to anyone who enjoys hidden camera comedies and just comedy in general.

When his daughter is sent to jail,Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) takes his grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) on a road trip across the country to take him to his irresponsible father.They get up to some crazy antics around complete strangers along the way.

Best Performance: Johnny Knoxville Worst Performance: Georgina Cates

While not being a longtime fan of this group, I had been able to watch some of the craziest antics Jackass can come up with in their second motion picture attempt. While their previous movies were compiled by a series of stunts, Bad Grandpa follows a background narrative that consists of basically a disgruntled grandpa trying to get his grandson to his estranged dad. What follows is a ride filled with shocking laugh out schemes that present the audience with an outrageous senior citizen that will stop at nothing to show his grandchild how much of an inappropriate person he can be. This is classic Jackass style and while containing some moments that I didn't particularly enjoy, most of them were incredibly funny and could only have come from the twisted minds of these gentlemen. Another highlight of the movie is the incredible make- up process that makes Johnny Knoxville completely unrecognizable to the known eye. Even "Her" director-writer Spike Jonze is totally undetectable as the deceased wive of our bad grandpa. In conclusion a great comedy for the fans and a true contender for the academy award for best make-up

Rating 7/10