DIRTY GRANDPA (Dan Mazer). 100 minutes. Opens Friday (January 22). See listing. Rating: N
Early on in Dirty Grandpa, Robert De Niro’s Dick Kelly gets caught whacking it to porn. Not long after, he’s verbally sparring with a co-ed played by a game Aubrey Plaza, making plans to cum all over her chest.
You gotta give De Niro a hand (and a maybe a tissue) for the way he dives right into this role. He chews through the icky dialogue and even lends the character some warmth in the process. The movie doesn’t deserve it.
Dick’s the titular dirty grandpa to Zac Efron’s uptight Jason, a corporate lawyer about to wed a bridezilla (Julianne Hough) and spend the rest of his life handling SCC compliance. Dick tricks his grandson into accompanying him to spring break, where there’s plenty of opportunity to get wasted, get laid and do everything possible to get a rise out of the audience.
There are gay jokes, supposedly offset by Dick’s defence of a homosexual character. Then there’s a debate about when it’s okay for an old white guy to say “niggas.” (Hint: you might get a pass if you memorize some Wu-Tang lyrics.)
I was squirming in my seat, not because I was offended, but because I felt embarrassed for the cast and their desperate attempts to make this shit funny.
