Dirty Grandpa

I believe I may have made a misjudgment here...

I've been "looking forward" to Dirty Grandpa for a little while as I dug the trailer, I like Zac Efron more than most (see last year's We Are Your Friends as an example), and I also enjoy De Niro. This looked like it could be a funny little comedy during a lull month.

I wasn't entirely wrong...but Dirty Grandpa also wasn't nearly as funny as I wanted it to be either. I'd even go so far as to say it was unfunny, totaling maybe 3-5 laughs overall for me. 

Critics are obviously attacking the hell out of this one, somewhat fairly, but as always, blowing it out of proportion. Is it a bad movie? Sure -- I'd hear an argument for that. I "enjoyed" it as my expectations are always drastically lower during January and February months. That doesn't necessarily justify it as a good film, or even an "okay" one, it's just a fine example of a movie that I was able to tolerate a little more than others it seems. 

How're those opening paragraphs for a ringing endorsement, huh?

Dirty Grandpa is a film with a lot of missed potential. It's clear that De Niro is talented, and the thought of him as a foul-mouthed old person lends itself to some potential laughs. Zac Efron proved in Neighbors that he can also be damn funny if he needs to and I think he's a better actor than many give him credit for. So it's extremely unfortunate that they're both stuck in a film with such a juvenile script that lacks almost zero wit and instead relies on curses, gross/shock imagery, and insults as its main source for laughter. Now, I enjoy a good curse every now and then, and there are definitely ways to make bad words and sexual innuendos funny, but there's also a fine line. Dirty Grandpa is an example of a script that tries incredibly too hard to produce laughs and ends up just sucking the fun out of most times when people should be laughing. When De Niro calls his grandson, Efron, "Cocky McBlockerson" at one point, you know there were some real "geniuses" doing the writing. 

High School Musical 4: Dirty F**king Grandpa

Are those Ron Burgundy's
pants from Anchorman?

Which leads me to my next point...why are De Niro and Efron even in this film? Granted, without them this would have been much, much worse and probably unmarketable, but I think they should both be questioning the scripts/choices they or their agents are making. De Niro, just coming off the incredibly sweet and surprising The Intern, plays almost the exact antithesis of that character, sadly almost completely nullifying my memory of a much better character. When the film you're in is asking you to have a scene where you get caught masturbating and you also drop the N-word, maybe it's time to say "no" seeing as how you're Robert freaking De Niro. Efron on the other hand just needs a better agent. As much as I liked We Are Your Friends, pretty much nobody else did because almost no one else saw it. It was an astronomical box office bomb. Dirty Grandpa asks him to do a lot of ridiculous stuff, not to mention be almost completely naked the whole time, including a scene that was probably a step too far on the inappropriate scale. He's got to start picking his roles more clearly and being in films as a co-star or secondary/tertiary character would be a great start. Clearly he doesn't have the headlining powers that he once did, but he's got to start choosing roles that aren't going to further destroy his career. Because he does deserve one. 

I'll be honest, Zac...I'm having a hard time not staring at your chest...

Obvious issues aside, Dirty Grandpa isn't a complete travesty and it was marketed for exactly what it is. I don't know why (probably mostly Efron and De Niro), but I still enjoyed it despite the lack of laughs. It tries to have a sentimental message that really ends up being neither here nor there, but I think just the hi-jinks these two get into were entertaining enough to say that I didn't completely hate my time with it. It's clear as you're watching it that Efron and De Niro at least formed some type of bond and honestly, probably both knew they were in a "bad" movie, but they try to have fun regardless and it's that spirit that helps keep the film afloat. 

Many of you come here for my opinion and to save yourselves some money by avoiding bad movies. Unless you were already intrigued by this one, or you really want to see a lot of Zac Efron, just avoid this one until TV. There aren't many good new films out, but there are plenty of other films that demand your attention that have released in recent months. After all, isn't January for catching up on those?

CONS:

• Incredibly immature and lackluster script
• Over dependence on bad language, crass jokes, and offending various groups. It earns a few laughs, but most of the time it's obvious that it's trying entirely too hard
• Shame to see De Niro and Efron in these roles when we know that they're better than this. I think at least a couple scenes should have been said "no" to
• Emotional beats don't really add up for much
• Loose plot that is thinly strung together
• Forgettable

PROS:

• Some funny bits throughout
• De Niro and Efron have some chemistry and the film seems to display that they enjoyed working with each other and at least had a little fun
• Some fun and funny side characters. I thought the cops and local drug dealer were consistently amusing and Aubrey Plaza has a few funny lines
• Moves at a quick pace so you get from one "Oh, Grandpaaa!" moment to the other

Rath's Review Score: 4.5/10