Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa : Movie Review


A hard-R version of "Betty White's Off Their Rockers" intermingled with the part-documentary/part-narrative format of 2006's "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" puts Johnny Knoxville's (2013's "The Last Stand") elderly, wildly inappropriate alter ego, Irving Zisman, in the lead role of his own feature film. Writer-director Jeff Tremaine (2010's "Jackass 3D") and co-writers Knoxville and Spike Jonze bust through every tasteful barrier they can, but the movie's tone is so good-natured, as unlikely as that may seem, that one cannot help but laugh at the sight of projectile sharting and a penis getting hopelessly lodged in a soda machine. The situations are droll, raunchy and pretty much expected by themselves, but where the picture gets its comic inspiration is in its use of unsuspecting real-life passersby and onlookers. Not realizing they are being filmed "Candid Camera" style, their mortified, uncomfortable, deer-caught-in-the-headlights reactions are frequently sidesplitting. The story happening around these pranks is on wobblier terra firma, but at least Knoxville and the irresistible Jackson Nicoll (2012's "Fun Size") share a winning, anything-goes rapport.

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Author : Dustin Putman