Every time I watch something related to the Jackass family of films, I find myself reminded of Mike Judge’s
remarkably funny satire, Idiocracy.
In the future depicted by Judge, the most popular television show is called Ow! My Balls and features a man running
around aimlessly as he is continually – and creatively – hit in the balls. The
entire Jackass franchise is built on
a similar premise: let’s watch grown men humiliate themselves, or others, for
amusement. It’s a concept that has always left me cold, all the while proving
to be a successful formula for teenage boys and overgrown teenage men.
Bad Grandpa is an attempt by
Johnny Knoxville and his team to expand their brand into feature films that do
more than serve as unconnected sketches of men doing dangerously funny things
to themselves and each other; they want to tell a story. The story here is that
of an old man named Irving (Knoxville), who is saddled with the task of taking
his 8-year old grandson, Billy, to be reunited with his methhead father after
mom is sent to prison. Along the way, this grumpy, perverted, foolish old man
and his grandson get involved in a number of staged hijinks in front of unsuspecting
people. It’s similar, in its own way, to Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat in that the joke is on all the
non-acting people these fictional characters encounter. Where it’s different is
the intent. Borat uses the format to
expose the racism, xenophobia, and ugliness in the hearts of so-called “normal”
people. It is misanthropy with a satirical edge. Bad Grandpa just wants to have a good time being bad.
And it is bad. Knoxville’s Irving is every bit the dirty old man
stereotype the title suggests. The film draws its laughs from the traditional
comic double team of foul talking old men and foul talking children. It adds
nothing new to either cliché. So, the success of the film is dependent solely
on the inventiveness of the situations created by Irving and Billy. On that
front, the film is hit-and-miss. Some scenes, like the ones in which Irving acts
like a deaf-mute to teach Billy how to pick up women, are wretched and tired.
But a few scenes, such as an early setpiece in a mortuary in which Irving tries
to eulogize his deceased wife in front of a group of patient church folk that
eventually culminates in him knocking over the casket, are absolutely
hysterical. The film’s climatic moment, at a child’s beauty pageant, is one of
the year’s funniest moments. It plays like a parody of Little Miss Sunshine, while seeming to actually satirize the child
pageant culture. I know Knoxville and his team had no such design, so I
consider the scene a happy accident.
I recognized going in that Bad
Grandpa was not a movie made for me. I am too snobbish in my comedic tastes
sometimes, and I figured this movie would have to really do something
unexpected to change my opinion. Ultimately, it didn’t, but I can’t say I hated
it. I admire the Jackass team’s
decision to try something new and risky. I love the make-up work that
transformed the young Knoxville into an 86-year old man so convincingly that
none of the non-actors mentioned it (I’m sure there were several things edited
out to promote the illusion, but the fact that anyone was tricked up close is
either a sign of great craft or the fact that people are simply getting dumber
by the day). And I loved the beauty pageant, if only because it permanently
redeems my guilty pleasure love affair with Warrant’s “Cherry Pie.”
What I take from this is that while Bad
Grandpa may not currently be my cup of tea, it did soften my heart. Maybe I’m
on my way to being ready for the future. Better protect my balls.
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