"Bad Grandpa" is the newest installment in the "Jackass" movie saga and subsequently writer/director Jeff Tremaine's poorest effort to date.
Part spinoff and part sequel, "Bad Grandpa" takes what was once a short skit first used in the "Jackass" movies and gives it a full-length story. Johnny Knoxville plays an 80-year-old pervert who is given the task of delivering his only grandson to his biological father.
Unlike the rest of the "Jackass" movies, "Bad Grandpa" melds together hidden-camera gags with a cheesy Hollywood-esque story arch. At first, the unlikely duo are adverse to one another, but as the road trip soldiers on, the two begin to bond like grandfather and grandson. Of course, neither Knoxville nor Jackson Nicoll (who plays the grandson, Billy) have the acting chops necessary to pull of any sort of emotional connection.
Moreover, the poop gags and stripper jokes aren't really conducive to a road-trip bonding movie. The plot is needlessly watered down by a pointless storyline when it could have benefited greatly from more candid-camera bits.
That's not to say that "Bad Grandpa" isn't without a unique set of charm. In fact, there are a number of pranks that are classic "Jackass" fare, but it simply all boils down to the thrill of surprise. The gags that elicited the greatest crowd reaction were the ones not featured in the previews. The element of surprise is the essence of a grin-inducing prank, and when you give it all away in a teaser, you're simply left with jokes without punchlines.
Despite a handful of memorable gags, the movie simply falls short of its own ambition. Many of the stunts never reach a climax, and you've already seen the ones that do in commercials. "Bad Grandpa" greatly suffers from the quintessential "if you've seen the previews, you've seen the movie" syndrome. What would best be served as a short film is needlessly dragged out to 90 minutes.
With an ending mirroring that of "Little Miss Sunshine" and a parade of skits that have a "been there, done that" quality to them, "Bad Grandpa" has the look and feel of "Jackass" production minus the genuine laughs.