I find it extremely ironic that approximately one week after I’m morbidly disappointed in the overrated, offensive disaster known as ‘The Book of Mormon,’ that I find myself almost speechless after sitting through ‘Dirty Grandpa.’ This film will go down as the ‘Soul Plane’ of Robert De Niro’s career.
Here’s the synopsis:
Jason Kelly (Zac Efron) is one week away from marrying his boss’s controlling daughter, putting him on the fast track for a partnership at the law firm. However, when the straight-laced Jason is tricked into driving his foul-mouthed grandfather, Dick (Robert De Niro), to Daytona for spring break, his pending nuptials are suddenly in jeopardy. Between riotous frat parties, bar fights, and an epic night of karaoke, Dick is on a quest to live his life to the fullest and bring Jason along for the ride. Ultimately, on the wildest journey of their lives, “dirty” Grandpa and his uptight grandson discover they can learn from one another and form the bond they never had.
I could sum it up in one sentence. Take the cursing from South Park with the vulgar one-liners from Adult Swim and sprinkle it with an X-rated comedy from HBO and throw in Zac Efron and Robert De Niro. See how much shorter that was?
Now to answer the question of its comedy label. Yes, there was humor in various places, but the humor is overshadowed by the amount of vulgarity and the copious attempts at ‘shock’ comedy. Efron has a six pack, cool. De Niro cusses a lot and conjures every form of ‘cock blocker’ imaginable, ok. But after that, there’s not much left. If you were looking for an actual movie, with a storyline and a point, you will be greatly disappointed. If you want a raw, hardcore, raunchy comedy and you want to laugh without any limitations? You’ll probably enjoy this.
This movie is simply too much. Too perverse, too vulgar, and trying too hard to establish a comedic base when it could’ve grown naturally. But that can’t be established when the most overused word in the film is “cock” and overreach by having De Niro drop the “N-word” while rapping over NWA in a karaoke scene. The comedy was hit or miss throughout the entire film.
I have to give this film a 5 out of 10. There’s no point of wasting money to see this, as it will soon die and find itself in On Demand heaven soon enough. The only reason I even give this a 5 is because the comedy that does stick, is pretty epic.
-Jon J.