The “story” concerns an 86 year old man driving his grandson across the heartland of America. Young Billy needs to stay with his father while his mother is in jail. But Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is not a movie in the traditional sense. This is a compendium of skits whereby a 42 year old Johnny Knoxville is made up to look like an elderly man, ageing lothario Irving Zisman. He’s paired with 9 year old actor Jackson Nicoll who plays Billy, the little boy. He’s a cute tyke and his obvious chemistry with Knoxville is genuine. Over the next 92 minutes we’re treated to a sequence of hidden camera stunts.
I’ve never been much of a fan of the Jackass franchise whose sole purpose was to simply show numskulls doing dangerous pratfalls. Bad Grandpa differs from the rest of the series in that there is the loose connecting thread of a plot mixed in with the silly high jinks. Many will be quick to compare this to Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 hidden camera trick movie. But let’s face it. They both owe their existence to Allen Funt’s long running TV show Candid Camera. The formula entertains in a similar fashion. The humor is based more on real people’s responses than the ridiculous antics themselves. The added component allows Bad Grandpa to triumph where the other Jackass pictures fell short.
Bad Grandpa is definitely not a film I would recommend to everyone. Things can get pretty crude. It pains me to say this, but I laughed a lot. The surprise is the gags successfully mine comedy at its most basic form. Watching what appears to be an old man hurtle through the air on a malfunctioning coin operated kiddie ride is hilarious in the same way that slipping on a banana peel is funny. Even funnier than the actual stunt, however, is the bystander’s reaction to those shenanigans. Watch the horrified faces of attendees at a mock funeral as they eavesdrop on a discussion grandpa and mom have over who’s going to take care of little Billy. It’s gut-busting. Occasionally the stunts aim even higher. Dressing the boy up like a girl and crashing a child beauty contest is amusing in the obvious sense, but it pokes fun at those questionable contests as well. I’m not saying this is a satire. This is lowbrow humor, but hey, that can be enjoyable too. I mean those sophisticated cartoons in the New Yorker are kind of overrated anyway.
Fast Film Reviews 
Leave a comment