Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa (MA)
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Jackson Nicoll
DIRTY old man Irving Zisman, 86, is one of Jackass’s finest characters, an inspired creation begging for more screen time.
The idea of a movie based around him is exciting – which is why it is such a shame this project fails so badly.
The set-up has Jackass star Johnny Knoxville as Zisman losing his wife, which sets free his inner ladies’ man.
The complication is grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) the obligatory, unlikeable fat kid.
As Billy’s mum goes to jail, he must be delivered across the country to his father, who wants him as a welfare meal ticket.
So begins a classic American road trip – the twist is the hidden cameras set up to capture the real reaction of innocent bystanders to the hijinks along the way.
In fairness, this often works quite well – and mostly exposes a kinder, gentler America than you might expect.
I did enjoy the scene in which Billy asks an attractive store worker for her “stripper name”, deciding he’ll call her Cinnamon.
Similarly, the climax – in which Billy dresses as a little girl and infiltrates one of those horrible child beauty pageants, then turns into a pint-sized exotic dancer in drag halfway through – was well worth the price of admission.
But mostly, the film is not as funny as its previews, and Knoxville comes across as the sad old one-trick pony he probably really is.
Each Jackass film has been a lesser copy of the one before it, and this one is no exception. Like a tired, tired government losing a little more support at each successive election, they limp towards an inevitable defeat.
– Jason Beck
