Straight-laced lawyer Jason (Zac Efron) goes on a road trip to Daytona Beach with his horndog grandfather Dick (Robert De Niro), who was recently widowed and is eager to party hard on spring break now that he's a single man. Along the way, Dick prods Jason to let loose and have fun, and tries to convince him that he shouldn't get married to his controlling fiancée (Julianne Hough). Aubrey Plaza, Dermot Mulroney, Zoey Deutch, Jason Mantzoukas, and Adam Pally co-star. Directed by Dan Mazer. ~ Jack Rodgers, Rovi
Director: Dan Mazer
Cast: Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Julianne Hough, Aubrey
Plaza, Dermot Mulroney
Release Date: Jan
22, 2016
Rated R for crude sexual content throughout, graphic
nudity, and for language and drug use.
Runtime: 1 hr. 42 min.
Genres: Comedy
Review:
If you walk out of Dirty Granpa offended then I’m not
sure exactly what you were expecting.
It’s a crude vulgar comedy that always shoots for the lowest common
denominator. It hits its marks a handful
of times due to the cast and Dan Mazer’s speedy direction. Mazer doesn’t let his film linger too long on
anything. As a result, you almost don’t
notice the clichéd characters and paper thin story. It’s easy to forget when you see Robert De
Niro and Zac Efron clearly having a blast film the bawdy comedy. Some have decried the downfall of De Niro
with roles like these but he seems to really enjoy them otherwise he wouldn’t
make as many of them, it helps that he’s got some comedic chops. So personally, I don’t fault him too
much. Efron does a solid job of playing
the straight man to De Niro’s wild man.
The film is helped along by a strong supporting turn from Aubrey
Plaza who deserves more movie roles
to take advance of her comedic talents.
All in all, Dirty Grandpa isn’t anymore or less than it says it is. It won’t be a classic but it’s good for a
chuckle.
C+
