Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa review

JACKASS PRESENTS: BAD GRANDPA:

A BAD GRANDPA, DUMB STUNTS, AND A FUNNY MOVIE!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND MTV FILMS

Johnny Knoxville is a Bad Grandpa

            Jackass, Johnny Knoxville is back for more trouble in the first movie based on an infamous stunt from the hit MTV Jackass franchise, Bad Grandpa. And while the film’s existence is rather questionable, it’s still very funny and filled with hysterical moments and slapstick.

            A lot of the jokes usually hit bulls-eyes and others are gross and stupid, but that’s sort of the Jackass style, a mixed bag of jokes and physical humor.

            86-year-old man, Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) is on a road trip across America with his 8-year-old grandson, Billy (Jackson Nicoll) to Billy’s father’s house, because his mother was sent to prison for cocaine use. Along the way, Irving introduces Billy to people, places, and situations (strip clubs, drugs, sex, stealing from grocery stores, beer, etc.) that give new meaning to the term “childrearing”.

            After a series of over the top slapstick and dumb gags, Irving finds out the true meaning of family bonding…even if it is a little crude.

            Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa as a whole is a funny tribute to a great Jackass moment, and hopefully this won’t be the last movie based on a stunt, I want a movie about Pontius the Barbarian next. However it wasn’t as good as the original Jackass movies (Jackass The Movie, Jackass Number Two, and Jackass 3D), I prefer watching Jackass when it’s one stunt after another, like the previous films and TV episodes, but Bad Grandpa was a pretty fine attempt to give it a story.

            Aside from silly jokes, stunts, and crude dialogue, Bad Grandpa does have a sweet story about the bonding of grandson and grandfather. But of course, the subtle moments get thrown out the window with more dumb stunts.

            Bad Grandpa is like a combination of comedies like Borat, Bruno, and The Dictator, mixed with the stunts of Jackass. The film is set in real situations like Borat, with Jackass stunts thrown in.

            If you’re a fan of the Jackass TV show and movies, you’ll most likely enjoy Bad Grandpa, it’s got many of the stunts that you loved from the original franchise, along with a few new ones. You probably won’t get much amusement out of the movie, if you’re not a Jackass fan, it’ll be too crude and gross for people outside of the fan base.

            If you were to see the movie, make sure you keep this in mind.