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‘Bad Grandpa’ brings bad humor, pranks

By Staff | Oct 30, 2013

Irving Zisman, Johnny Knoxville’s 80-something “grandpa” character, has a weirdly offensive libido, which would make him an inappropriate role model for anyone, let alone pudgy eight-year-old Billy (Jackson Nicoll). Yanked into a caretaker role after his daughter’s prison sentence, the ornery old creep feels the need to pick up women after the “couldn’t happen sooner” death of his life partner.

“Bad Grandpa” continues the “Jackass” franchise in a mocking gross out style. Blending candid camera and reality stunts, Knoxville and Nicoll have an unstructured and mostly ill-motivated compilation that mostly takes itself too seriously. Unwilling to acknowledge the repeated hidden camera gimmicks, the film contends with jerky cuts and jumps that have even the laughing viewer thinking about the likely consequences of everything from bold shoplifting and underage consumption to impaired vehicular driving.

Still, a dysfunctional wake, a mockery imitation of little girls’ beauty pageants, several restaurant faux pas, and a too-short wedding wreck jolt laughs and smiles. But other stunts and continuing cadaver transport necessitate “reaction” shots for proper scene seques.

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