Gee, I wonder why people who play video games get such a bad rep? Oh, that’s right, it’s because of movies like “Grandma’s Boy” that naively associate the digital pastime with smoking weed 24/7. That isn’t to say that some casual gamers don’t engage in said activity, but so do Wall Street stock brokers, lawyers and doctors. When is a movie about doped up professionals going to surface, or is that just too touchy of a subject? Whatever the excuse, there simply isn’t one good enough to justify laying down ten bucks for 96 minutes of pure drivel. And while the film shows flashes of comedic potential, it depends far too much on the scenes involving marijuana to steer the ship.
Allen Covert stars as Alex, a 35-year-old pothead and video game tester who has just been evicted from his apartment after discovering that his roommate was using the rent money for Filipino hookers. Left with no other choice, Alex moves in with his Grandma Lilly (Doris Roberts) and her two roommates, a living situation he’s determined to ramp up with his co-workers by describing them as his hot, female sexmates. The situation at work isn’t any better, and as the deadline for the latest Xbox title from gaming prodigy J.P. (Joel Moore) nears, the company sends in a suit (Linda Cardellini) to ensure the game is finished on time.
“Grandma’s Boy” is courtesy of Adam Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison, as if you couldn’t tell by the “inspired” casting of Covert in the lead role and Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Kevin Nealon in horrible cameos. Still, Sandler’s name demands little respect from the audience, since he likely had no part whatsoever in the production of the film. And while Covert (who has appeared in twelve of Sandler’s movies) works great as a supporting character, he’s no leading man. In fact, most of the laughs in the film come from stand-up comedian Nick Swardson (a regular guest star on “Reno 911!”) as Alex’s co-worker and best friend, while Cardellini serves as the film’s smoking hot eye candy – and looking a far too much like Christine Taylor in the process.
Regrettably, there is actually a market for movies like this, and the crowds of fifteen-year-old boys that manage to sneak in to the R-rated flick will enjoy every minute; including the 20-minute party sequence that functions only as a catalyst for more marijuana-induced comedy. Everybody else, however, should stay far, far away. That is, unless you want to bear witness to the excruciating cast of characters that includes a kung-fu monkey and a guy who talks like a robot whenever he gets nervous. Yes, it’s that bad.
1.5 / 5 Stars
Starring: Allen Covert, Linda Cardellini, Nick Swardson, Joel Moore, Doris Roberts, Kevin Nealon
Director: Nicholaus Goossen
DVD Review:
The single-disc release of “Grandma’s Boy” may appear loaded with hours of special features, but like the movie, it’s all just a bunch of fluff. Aside from the two audio commentaries (with director Nick Goosen on one, and stars Allen Covert, Nick Swardson and Peter Dante on the other), the DVD includes never-before-seen material like deleted scenes (“Scenes That Went Up in Smoke”) and alternate takes (“Unsmoked Material”), as well as a Fox Movie Channel Casting Session. Also featured are useless featurettes like “Covert Whacks It” and “Smoke This,” both of which are pretty self-explanatory.
