Bad Grandpa

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!).

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

Despite all its low brow humor and childish gags Bad Grandpa is by far one of the funniest and seriously ingenious comedies of the year and when watched with the right mindset will be a thoroughly enjoyable 90 minutes at the movies.

Played by a worryingly good Johnny Knoxville Irving Zisman is the titular bad grandpa, a man set upon every women he sees and a man that finds himself in many a hilarious situation. Whether Irving is at a bingo center, diner or postal office Johnny Knoxville inhabits him wholly and completely that one forgets we are watching a pretend old man. It must be said also that some of the film's most quiet and funny moments come from Knoxville merely waltzing about town in full old man get up, waving and traipsing about his business as passer byes are none the wiser. Knoxville's strong inhabitation of Irving however would have been wasted if his grandson weren't such a mischievous delight as well.

As played by child actor Jackson Nicholl Irving's grandson Billy is the perfect foil for the antics the film sets up and Nicholl displays a rare ability for a child to think on a whim and more than once he will have you laughing hysterically with his verbal comebacks or physical comedy (A highlight being the trailer centerpiece and films ace up the sleeve beauty pageant routine). It's good to see Jackass stalwart and co-creator Jeff Tremaine handle both the situations and actors so well and one senses that this creation will set forward more projects under the similar vein of real life candid cameras mixed with a anchoring plot line.

Obviously not for everyone and more likely to offended than not Bad Grandpa is still a must see for all comedy fans and even if Jackass is not your usual cup of lime juice Bad Grandpa offers up a welcome deviation from the usual Jackass presentations and a showpiece for just how funny Knoxville is when given the right material.

4 knocked over penguins out of 5

There are three stars in this film, the shining John Knoxville, the stellar fat kid and the bit actors that are American society. Knoxville has undoubted talent and shines throughout disguised as a senior citizen behaving badly as his libido flourishes entering widowhood. The fat kid being his screen grandson who seems to have inherited the granddad's on screen bravado and Knoxville's real world talent. A laugh out loud road movie that circles the underbelly of American society with its tongue and leaves you with a sweet lingering taste of other America on your palate. There is an insight in this comedy and this is that every American appears to be hanging around waiting to be in a movie. All the world is a stage but the USA appears to be a rolling film lot, waiting for the next crew to hit town with all the residents switching to bit part mode at any perceived opportunity. They may not be the brightest stars in this film but the ordinary people do shine and without them the other stars would not seem so bright. Yes its laugh out loud slapstick but the humanity and kindness of the real people give soul to a film that badly handled could have been exploitative and cruel. Go and enjoy it, no animals or Americans where harmed in the making of this film.

Bad Grandpa (2013)

**** (out of 4)

Johnny Knoxville dresses up as old man Irving Zisman and takes a trip from Nebraska to North Carolina to take his grandson (Jackson Nicoll) back to his real father. BAD GRANDPA comes from the JACKASS team and while I did enjoy the show and the three previous films, all of them simply wore out their welcome after a while but that's certainly not the case with this film. I'm not going to go into great detail about the various pranks in the film because it's best to go in without knowing too many of them. I will say that this here doesn't resort to physical violence all that much, although there are a couple examples. The main focus is just this weird old man who puts his grandson into all sorts of bad situations and usually makes them worse. I think the film is remarkably funny and I'd probably call it one of the funniest films I've seen in a very long time. Again, I'm not a JACKASS die-hard but even if you hate that show you'll simply fall for the variety of dirty humor here. We get stuff dealing with the old man's sex life, his dead wife, various scenes of him playing drunk and causing trouble and of course there are some of the moments that everyone saw in the trailer like the beauty pageant. Why four stars? Why not? The film really is a laugh riot from the opening scene to the very last one and a lot of credit has to go to Knoxville and the various writers. What really makes this film work is a little "story" built around all the jokes about this grandfather coming closer to his grandson. It's oh-so-silly but that's the point. The various situations the two find themselves in are certainly the highlight of the picture as we get some downright shocking scenes. There are even moments that you'll see coming from a mile away but then you'll get a twist that will just have tears running down your face. BAD GRANDPA certainly earns its R-rating but it's also one of the funniest films in a very long time.