Bad Grandpa

Good Bad Gramps

I just finished watching Bad Grampa which is now out on video.  For those of you that don't know, Bad Grandpa is a Jackass Films flick.  If you are anything like me, this was something of a red flag.  I've never been a big fan of the Jackass line of movies or their various TV shows.  There's only so much physical abuse you can watch a group of people take before you stop watching unless it's on the news.  Especially when it is in such silly and downright stupid ways as in those movies.  Don't get me wrong, there are some hilarious things to watch in them, but in the end I won't pay to see any more of them.  But I digress, as this is not supposed to be a review of Jackass.  I just thought it might be important to mention where I'm coming from going into this movie. 

Who bought this? ...And where are we?

Spoiler Free:

With that said, Bad Gramdpa is kind of a unique movie.  I can't think of any films off the top of my head to compare it to.  It's s a mix of hidden camera stunts designed to get real reactions from non-actor everyday people and a fictional story that sets the stage for the stunts.  That was actually a little confusing at first.  It just felt like we were watching reactions and it was surprising when a real story was being introduced. Now, that does not mean every stunt makes any sense in the story at all and Johnny Knoxville obviously gets a few of his typical "how is he still alive?" stunts in there as well.  

To give an overall impression before going into some Spoilers, I liked this movie.  Yes, there were parts where I kind of tuned out and times where what was going on wasn't terribly interesting.  The make-up was incredible, tho.  They really transformed Johnny Knoxville into an old man.  This one got the people-watcher in me interested as some of the reactions by the unknowing bystanders were absolutely priceless.  You couldn't script some of this, and in fact, most of it wasn't.

--Caution: Possible Spoilers Ahead--

Ok, so now only the cool kids who have seen the movie should be reading this far.  Or you have no interest in watching it.  Either way, welcome!  I'm not going to give a summary of the whole movie, but want to hit the beginning and some of the high and low points.

So when the movie opened, the kid and his Grandpa weren't together yet.  Grandpa was in a hospital waiting room getting the news that his wife had passed away.  To show just what an ass he really was, he was happy that she died so he could be free to go after other women. He did this a lot... the whole movie... every few scenes.  The kid was in a law office waiting room where it looks like his mom was meeting with a lawyer about her going back to jail for "drugs."  Yes.  Just "drugs."  Story isn't the important thing in this film.  It was watching the Grandpa try to pick up some women who overheard that his wife just died. And while the kid was waiting for his mom, he opens up a little too much to the ladies around him about his mom's legal troubles ("drugs").  These were the first reactions we got to see.  

Moving into the next scene was where it felt confusing.  It was like an actual story was happening, but you just got used to simply people-watching.  There was a scene where Grandpa was buying a suit and he was hitting on the girl measuring him when he suddenly tries to bolt out the door.  An angry manager had him sit down and went to call the cops.  We watched his wife's funeral where his daughter and the kid showed up.  They argue outside the door while he is still holding the microphone so everyone can hear the details of the situation.  She needs Grandpa to take the kid because she is going to jail ("drugs"). After going back inside, the daughter tried to steal jewelry out of the casket causing a struggle where she and Grandpa knocked over the casket.  With no one else knowing what was going on, there was genuine surprise and no one knew what to do.  Grandpa gets everyone singing, because THAT is exactly what you do in that situation.

This series of events set up the whole movie.  Grandpa took the kid and immediately tried to unload him.  Calling the kid's dad from an internet cafe where terse words were exchanged while we watched the poor souls around listen.  They started driving to South Carolina to drop the kid off with his reluctant dad who only wanted him for the government assistance.  

A great scene was when they were trying to sell some of Grandpa's things that he wouldn't need now that his wife was dead.  The best one was the bed.  This was the first really premeditated prank. Random strangers were walking around the house shopping and Grandpa was going to show the bed's reclining features to a potential buyer.  He handed her the controller and laid down.  When she hit the button, the bed folded Grandpa in half repeatedly.  Everyone panicked and tried to disable the bed.  After everything settled down, I really got the feeling that the woman might faint.  She was shaking and visibly terrified.  Alfred Hitchcock couldn't have gotten that kind of reaction from an actress.  In true Grandpa fashion, he continued to be a dick to her all the way to the end of the scene.

From here, it was just a series of pranks while they were on their road trip.  They stop at a convenience store and Grandpa started shoplifting and making a sandwich.  After getting caught by the manager, they tried to make a run for it only to be caught by what appeared to be the owner.  She was pissed and keeps them out of the car while the cops are called.  The police were called often in this movie, but that doesn't slow down our boys at all.

There were some not-so-great moments too.  There is a flashback about fishing that Grandpa had which was just a cut to a prank where he caught a large fake fish with a big dildo attached to the bottom.  That's really all I have for that one.  Wasn't a big fan.  Also, there was a gag that lasted waaaay too long (you'll see what I did there in a sec) where he had "old man balls" that hung down to his shins falling out of his underwear (see?  long).  It was funny when you first see it, but he continues to dance so they shake and it got old quick.  There were quite a few overplayed dick jokes scattered throughout the movie.

Anyway, throughout this trip, Grandpa and the kid bonded.  They reached their destination to meet up with his dad.  This happened to be a bar where a biker group called Guardians of the Children were having a party.  The dad endeared himself poorly to the tough biker gang very quickly by just being a douche.  Grandpa left the kid but went to get him back after reconsidering.  This is where I give this movie a lot of credit.  Grandpa goes in and tells the kid they are going fishing, prompting the kids dad to fight back to protect his meal ticket.  I give it credit because a BIKER GANG about GUARDING CHILDREN was there and had no idea this was just a show.  One of the bikers has the dad in a head lock and the dad's face turned a little red while he forfeited the fight.  He was committed right until the end in getting the scene shot.

I forget if this was next, but we get to see the best scene in the movie, which didn't fit AT ALL.  It was just there.  If you saw the trailer, you know what I'm talking about.  It's where they entered the kid in a Toddlers & Tiaras-type pageant and the kid goes fully Honey Boo Boo.  You never go full Honey Boo Boo...

Can you tell which one is which?

Going off into the sunset to go fishing (and completing the secondary story of burying Grandpa's wife by throwing her body off of a bridge) the movie ended.  

During the credits, we got a glimpse into how the movie was made.  Some after-the-scene footage where they explained to frightened/pissed off/disgusted/confused people that they were in a movie.  We even saw a hidden camera woman when they lifted the lid off her disguised hiding place.  

The Low Down:

So, my overall opinion on Bad Grandpa was that I liked it.  It was a little uneven, but you can expect that in a movie where only 4 of the people you see were in on the joke and everyone else was raw reaction.  It was crude, it was very not PC, and I really thought that one woman with the bed was going to die of a heart attack.  If you aren't looking for a serious movie and want some cheap laughs, check this movie out.