Grandpa slings raps, slurs, and clubs with his grandson. He is old. He is mean. He certainly is dirty. And he’s not what you would expect. Though a barrage of insults directed toward Zac Efron and non-sequitur humor are sure to reign in a few laughs, Dirty Grandpa has little in terms of substantiated or crafted comedy.
Following the death of his wife, Dick Kelly (Robert De Niro) seeks to spice up his life with a trip to Daytona Beach. With the help of his submissive and soon-to-be-married grandson Jason Kelly (Efron), Dick makes his ambitions of sex and partying a reality, while showing Jason how to loosen the grip of his controlling fiancee. Police, drugs, gangs, and Grandpa make for a dangerous combination.
Dirty Grandpa’s plot is predictable, with characters ending up exactly where you think they would. In fact, the progression of each character can be accurately predicted within several minutes. We have seen this type of dynamic before, with reserved and radical characters butting heads. In the end, both sides find a sentimental truth through various trials and antics. This is apparent in Neighbors (2014), in which Efron plays a similar role. In that comedy his position was that of the radical fraternity member, tormenting the couple next door. The story was of a struggle between two households, with no clear victor in sight. Conversely, in Dirty Grandpa, Efron is on the receiving end of most of the ill will, yet the shared fate of him and his grandpa is completely foreseeable.
The movie wastes no time to build up to De Niro’s character’s crazed nature. Shortly after his introduction, the ridiculous situations, lines, and quips come in full force and rarely slow down. Insult humor dominates as Dick continually berates and emasculates his weak-willed grandson. As they traverse the roads and party scenes together, Dick truly leads the way, with Jason looking on awkwardly. The unfortunate simplicity of the plot can be forgiven as the film wastes no time jumping into the action and quickly progressing from scene to scene.
The insult humor is at times very funny, as Efron does not lead the show. Instead, he fills the role of a human punching bag. Much of the humor is easy and simple, but demands laughs or chuckles at their delivery or nature. A good portion of the humor falls into pitfalls of shock humor. In place of a joke with buildup and payoff, writers substitute easy laughs with a penis to the face or fart noises on a stage. This kind of humor is easy to pull off and will garner some laughs, but those are cheap and easy laughs.
Making Efron the human punching bag functions very well. His reaction to De Niro’s performance is authenticated by his sincere looks of desperation and shame. For Efron, this film can be seen as an extension of Neighbors, as he continues to shed his pretty-boy persona. In many ways the movie continues to prove that. His misery is a highlight of the movie.
De Niro makes the movie, as he precisely embodies a dirty grandpa. Most of the funny moments come from the situational comedy that ensues from seeing a grandfather in the situations presented on screen. De Niro pulls off everything with confidence. Shot-gunning beers, rapping, lighting cigars, and seamlessly mingling with spring breakers make for some entertaining spectacles. De Niro is trying new things and for a man of 72, this is admirable. Clearly he does not need to make films any more, but he does for the love of it. Just as his character is made to feel younger through his antics, De Niro is given vigor as he continues to churn out films, proving that he still has what it takes to deliver a good, or at least entertaining, performance.
Dirty Grandpa is fun and will have you chuckling throughout. Though it has few well-crafted jokes, the fast-paced nature of the movie will keep you engaged.
Featured Images By Lionsgate Films
