Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa was far better and a lot funnier than I had expected it to be especially considering the Jackass movies and show never was my cup of tea. However, most of the jokes land and there’s enough plot there to string the jokes and pranks together quite nicely.
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013)
Genre(s): Comedy
Paramount | R/Unrated – 91 min. / 102 min. – $0.00 | January 28, 2013
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Jeff Tremaine
Writer(s): Johnny Knoxville & Spike Jonze & Jeff Tremaine & Fax Bahr & Adam Small (story), Johnny Knoxville & Spike Jonze & Jeff Tremaine (screenplay)
Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll
Theatrical Release Date: October 25, 2013
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Scenes, DVD Copy, Digital Copy
Number of Discs: 2
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Portuguese (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Disc Size: 40.9 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE – 3.5/5
The Jackass franchise continues the latest, titled nicely enough Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa, re-introduces us to the cranky Irving Zisman (JOHNNY KNOXVILLE) who gets saddled with his precocious grandson, Billy (JACKSON NICOLL), after his mother is set to go to jail. To get rid of the little twerp, Irving gets into contact with Billy’s druggie father (GREG HARRIS) while also making a road trip to bury Irving’s dearly departed wife, molded after Catherine Keener who makes an appearance during the outtakes/end credits as the part was removed.
That’s the basic story and surprisingly, thin as it is, it’s good enough to sustain the narrative through the 91-minute running time (I only watched the R-rated theatrical version). Woven throughout are skits and pranks which prove that if you’re old or a child, you can get away with almost anything and people probably won’t call the authorities on you. Oh, and old people doing odd crap or kids saying the damndest things are always good for a laugh anyway.
I’ve never seen any of the Jackass movies save for a clip or two but they never appealed to me probably because the idea of seeing someone take it to the nuts several times just isn’t that funny or entertaining. However, with Bad Grandpa, the jokes land when they’re supposed and I don’t mind admitting to laughing at more than a few of the juvenile jokes.
All in all, if you like Johnny Knoxville and the hidden camera-type shows and movies, Bad Grandpa is well worth checking out even if the plot did feel a bit forced and on the syrupy side and attempts to pull at the heartstrings which comes across as thin, though as I said, it’s good enough if only to string together the pranks and humor.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.0/5
This release comes with a semi-glossy and title-embossed slip cover. Inside is a standard DVD Copy and a download code for either the Digital Copy or UltraViolet.
Unrated Cut (1:42:13; HD) contains new footage not shown in theaters.
Behind the Scenes (34:44; HD) are a collection of eight featurettes looking at how some of the scenes were shot such as the funeral home, estate sale, etc. and revealing the prank and subsequently getting release forms.
Alternate Marks (19:51; HD) shows some basically alternate scenes with different people.
Deleted Scenes (6:09; HD) are scenes that didn’t make it into the final film.
VIDEO – 3.0/5
Bad Grandpa strolls onto Blu-ray via Paramount presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Considering this is a movie shot mostly through hidden cameras, it’s no surprise that it doesn’t exactly look astounding in HD where details are at times hazy and colors tend to be muted. The one bright spot is during the car ride scenes, it does seem crisper compared with other parts but its relatively minor. Needless to say, this is not a movie that benefits from high-def.
AUDIO – 3.5/5
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track comes out a tad better though not by much. The bulk of the film is, of course, dialogue and dialogue recorded outside with hidden microphones, so it doesn’t lead to the clearest audio. When we do get some music it makes use of the front and rear speakers otherwise this is a, at best, serviceable track, nothing more.
OVERALL – 3.5/5
Overall, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa was far better and a lot funnier than I had expected it to be especially considering the Jackass movies and show never was my cup of tea. However, most of the jokes land and there’s enough plot there to string the jokes and pranks together quite nicely. The Blu-ray release comes with adequate audio/video transfers and a fair number of features well worth checking out.
The Movieman
Published: 01/20/2014