‘Grandma’s’ jokes are good, acting isn’t
Competition for this year’s best stoner/gross-out comedy began with the release of “Grandma’s Boy.”
Allen Covert (“The Wedding Singer,” “Big Daddy”) finally gets his chance to get out of Adam Sandler’s shadow after numerous appearances in Sandler’s movies — and, unfortunately, he should have waited longer.
Covert plays Alex, a video game tester who is creating his own game but gets derailed when his roommate spends all the rent money on Filipino hookers.
Alex is then forced to live with his grandmother, played by Doris Roberts (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) and her two eccentric roommates, one played by Shirley Jones ( “The Partridge Family”).
Alex plays it off to his co-workers that he is living a fantasy with three hot chicks and can’t get any work done because he is having sex all the time.
Soon enough, his buddies find out and one day after work a hilarious house party breaks out at grandma’s house. It grows especially wild after she gets a hold of some “special” tea.
“Grandma’s Boy” is full of laughs that any college student who has experimented outside of the classroom will appreciate.
Nick Swardson (“Malibu’s Most Wanted” “Almost Famous”) is great as Alex’s co-worker, Jeff, and he just about steals every scene he is in.
Even though the overall plot doesn’t show up until over half- way into the movie, the dialogue and jokes carry the movie throughout.
One of the funnier moments in the movie is when Swardson is challenged by another co-worker to a game of Dance Dance Revolution.
It features cameos from plenty of Sandler regulars — and, yes, Rob Schneider makes an appearance, as was expected being a Happy Madison production.
All the jokes aside, the performances, other than Swardson’s, were lacking. There is a reason Covert has never been a lead actor and probably never will be again.
So if you’re looking to add to your collection of cannabis movies along with Cheech and Chong and Harold and Kumar then wait for “Grandma’s Boy” to come out on DVD.
