Dirty Grandpa (2016)

Directed by: Dan Mazer | 105 minutes | comedy | Actors: Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Zoey Deutch, Aubrey Plaza, Jason Mantzoukas, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Hough, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Brandon Mychal Smith, Jake Picking, Michael Hudson, Adam Pally, Mo Collins, Henry Zebrowski, Danny Glover , Catherine Dyer

Jason (Zac Efron) is having a hard time. His grandmother has passed away after a 10-year illness and he is about to marry his demanding girlfriend Meredith (Julianne Hough). When his grandfather, who he used to be close to but hasn’t seen much with in recent years, demands that Jason drive him to his vacation destination Boca Raton (a trip that will last a day or two), he actually sees it. not like that, but grandpa Dick (Robert De Niro) knows how to turn it so that Jason has to. After all, it’s what grandma would have wanted. Even before leaving, Jason suddenly sees a completely different side of his grandfather (something with a load of tissues and a porn movie). So it will be that kind of movie.

‘Dirty Grandpa’ is a raunchy, racist, homophobic comedy, in which the story and the actors serve the mission of making as many vulgar jokes as possible. The story is – stripped of the gross humor and idiotic situations – still quite moving. Jason is at an important crossroads in his life. His grandfather thinks he hasn’t been living the life he should for ages. He gave up his dream of becoming a photographer for a job at the prestigious law firm where his father also works. By marrying Meredith – an attractive match, since her father is a partner in the same law firm – he again takes a side road that only further removes him from his happiness in life. Through this road trip, Dick tries to make his grandson open his eyes.

The cast – not least names, Robert De Niro leading the way – do exactly what the screenplay expects them to do and have succeeded in that regard, but it already hurts to see Zac Efron in this role, let alone De Niro. Supporting actors such as Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Hough and Aubrey Plaza do not get beyond stereotypical scenes. At more than an hour and a half, the film is way too long, and all kinds of plot elements feel pulled in (such as that of Dick’s friend Stinky (Danny Glover). Within 48 hours, Efron’s character is arrested twice, by the same cops too! Only two cops patrol Florida in Florida. Cringe-inducing fragments include the standard “being mistaken for a pedophile” and an incomprehensibly illogical and offensive scene in which Jason Meredith is supposed to tell the truth, but via a continuously stoned cousin, a deaf uncle and an uncle with an electro-larynx gets the message across, but all of ‘Dirty Grandpa’ isn’t worth anyone’s investment, a waste of the creators’ time, but also a waste of time for the viewers.