FROM THE BACK OF THE BOX:
86-year-old Irving Zisman takes a trip from Nebraska to North Carolina to take his 8 year-old grandson, Billy, back to his real father.
FROM THE BACK OF MY BRAIN:
“Bad Grandpa” was a mild gamble for the Dickhouse crew. Creating a semi-narrative and throwing a Knoxville creation that has had maybe 15 times combined screen time didn’t always seem like it was going to pan out. Now, the film has made nearly 6 times what it cost and it’s staring down an Oscar nomination on Thursday morning. That’s pretty amazing for a Candid Camera style stunt movie that opened in the wake of “Gravity”. I could bring up the kid that played Billy or how Catherine Keener was snuck into the film in what amounts to a brilliant cameo played as set dressing. But, I’ll move on.
Whatever Jackass does at this point, I feel that they can keep moving forward. They made a narrative work, they’ve taken the actual Jackass stunts to new levels and they’ve actually breached the mainstream. Still, I can’t help but feel the nagging suspicion that the appeal of pranking people in elaborate setups or throwing Steve-O against wall and seeing if he sticks will eventually run its course. As a fan, I hope I’m wrong. That being said, I did see a few cracks emerge in the prolonged striptease segment.
The Blu-Ray comes with a DVD and Digital HD copy. The special features range from behind-the-scenes featurettes to deleted scenes. The A/V Quality is strong enough with a 1080p transfer that actually shows off the shifts in film stock when they were shooting some of their covert elements. The DTS-HD 5.1 master audio track is presentable and helps to sell the bigger jokes. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: 01/28/2014
