Review of Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013) by Jack F — 02 May 2014

You know what you're getting into when you sit down to watch "Bad Grandpa"...especially since the full title is actually "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa." If you've ever seen the old MTV show or the films it inspired, then you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect. It's not so much a film as it is a series of sketches with a minimal storyline used to string them together. It's a mixed bag, sporadic and disjointed, but when the movie hits its targets, the result is uproariously funny. I laughed just often enough to recommend the movie (unless, of course, you despise the "Jackass" team and its antics, in which case, you shouldn't even be reading this).

Johnny Knoxville reprises his "Jackass" character of Irving Zisman, an 86-year-old pervert who is elated at the passing of his wife. (This right here should let you know what kind of humor the movie will be dealing in.) Now he is free to chase all the young tail he wants...or is he? Not long after the funeral, Irving unexpectedly finds himself on a cross-country road trip with his 8 year-old grandson, Billy (Jackson Nicoll), as he has been entrusted to deliver the boy to his father in North Carolina. As you might expect, Irving does not make for the best guardian, and the two get into all sorts of hijinxes along the way.

For the most part, the film plays out like an extended series of hidden camera show segments, as Knoxville and Nicoll engage in numerous encounters with unspecting members of the public. I have my doubts about the authenticity of some of these sequences (I doubt, for example, that the participants of the wedding crashing segment were unaware that it was part of a movie), but in most cases, the stunned reactions of the everyday people are pure, comedic gold. Knoxville and Nicoll never break character, and as they're pretty convincing (the movie was actually nominated for an Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling), it sure looks like the people are buying into it.

And that's what ultimately makes this film so hard to review as, as with any Candid Camera bit, you really kind of have to see it for yourself. And then you'll either find it funny or you won't; I don't want to spoil the movie's best moments.

Well...maybe a teensy one, but as it's already been prominently shown on pretty much every trailer for the movie, I don't think this is going to shock too many people. Even so, I'll tread carefully and merely point out that the movie's most scathingly funny moment occurs when the duo crashes a child beauty pageant and exposes it for what it truly is: an exploitation. It's exaggerated to be sure, but it's still spot-on, and you really have to laugh at the horrified expressions on the faces of the young contestants' parents. One hopes that, maybe now, these people will realize just how horrendous these "beauty pageants" really are. Now that's what I call blisteringly funny satire.

I'm sure that Knoxville has been called many things throughout the course of his career, but let it never be said that the man isn't brave. He throws himself (as Irving) into one outrageous situation after another with reckless abandon (as is to be expected from any of the "Jackass" guys), and even if it doesn't quite work, he still manages to come out on top. But as funny as Knoxville can be, it's young Jackson Nicoll who is the movie's secret weapon. He's a riot, whether he's approaching people on the street asking them to be his daddy, or asking an employee of an adult bookstore if her stripper name is "Cinnamon." The kid has a knack for comedy.

Even when some of its segments fall a bit flat, "Bad Grandpa" is, at its worst, mildly funny (whereas, at its best, it's a true gut-buster). The movie could use a bit of fine-tuning, but overall, it's a worthy rental if you're looking for some laughs and the "Jackass" brand is your cup of tea.