I wasn't excited about this movie. I walked into the theater expecting it to be packed. I see a row with 4 open seats, me and my company take up two seats, so there's no way someone sits next to us. The theater gradually fills up more and more as the commercials roll on. It's mostly college kids with the IQ of a stone. You can hear them breathe and shuffle their feet as if they were trolls. They move slowly and stupidly. People sit next to me. Their cologne takes over. Their laughter is uproarious. The movie is a lot funnier to them than it is to me, but is that because of the experience or the movie?
Bad Grandpa is the latest effort from the Jackass crew. Usually their movies involve stunts that make you squirm because of how painful it looks, but this film was more about pranking people, which was a little different than what we're used to from these guys.
While the hidden camera genre has been around since sometime in the 40s, it was Sacha Baron Cohen who revolutionized the category with Borat and Bruno. He made it scripted hidden camera, which is what Bad Grandpa sets out to do. Is it as good as Cohen's work? No. But it is effective.
The big problem hidden camera movies often run into is their long runtime. These things can only be funny for so long. Borat and Bruno both ran 30 minutes too long. Bad Grandpa actually ends it right on time, maybe 5 minutes too long but that's neither here nor there.
The heart of Bad Grandpa is the interaction and chemistry between Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll, who play Irving and Billy. When you watch this movie, you never think to yourself that you're watching Johnny Knoxville, no, he made his character believable, which was actually quite shocking. There were scenes where you'd completely forget this is affiliated with the Jackass crew. The most effective moments are the few serious scenes Knoxville has, which he plays quite convincingly.
Jackson Nicoll, who plays Billy, ended up stealing the show. He was hilarious and he's actually been in a couple big movies, but nobody recognizes him/cares. His interactions with unsuspecting adults were hysterical. And his dance during the toddler pageant has been shown over and over again in the commercials, but it's still amusing.
Johnny Knoxville: A+
What more can you say? He was funny. He didn't overdo it and he remained committed to his character. There were situations where he could have potentially been put in harms way, but he attacks each obstacle with a sort of fearlessness that you ultimately have to respect. Knoxville has always been funny, but as of lately (the last 5 years) we have forgotten about Knoxville and the Jackass crew? Why is that? Back in 2007 there was nothing in the world cooler than Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, and Bam Margera. Now that they have all came in went, let me tell you something, Johnny Knoxville doing this by himself is 10x better than anything he did with them.
Jackson Nicoll: A+
Impressionable, a dirty mouth, innocent, and not all there. That is the perfect formula for comedic success with children. Usually movies try to make us think a kid cursing is somehow shocking and hilarious (it never is), but Nicoll manages to pull it off with ease. It's worth the price of admission to see him call another man dad, trust me.
The movie ran longer than it should have, but the final 20 minutes are the best parts. Just hope you see it with people who have some trace of intellect. This movie isn't on par with Bruno or Borat but it does a solid job of reminding us why those movies were so funny. And if this means we are getting more Johnny Knoxville and a lot less (and by that I mean absolutely none) Jackass, then we may just be headed for a bright and funny future. This is a humorous movie, but don't be fooled by everyone around you, it's a lot funnier to them.
Final Score: 3/5
