A warning regarding Grandma's Boy
by Vladimir Cole 
{ Jan 4th 2006 at 2:00AM }
Since we were not initially allowed to blog a review of Grandma's Boy when we watched it last month, and since the film's not gonna be shown to critics (generally a sure sign that it's crap), we will attempt now to write about what we do remember from our preview nearly a month ago.
By way of introduction, a precept. When a joke is told, timing is important. The comedian must allow for a few beats of silence before proceeding with the dialog, or laughter will cause people to miss what follows next. Good movies time their comedy well, being careful to leave enough space after a big joke for the punch line to air out. Bad movies don't do this well. At several points early on in Grandma's Boy, a "joke" is told and the obligatory pause follows, except that nobody in the theater was laughing. Instead: crickets, pin drops, and a few uncomfortable coughs as people glanced at their watches.
Ironically, it's these early moments in which a joke bombs horribly that save the film from complete failure. Because these bombs happen near the beginning, the moviegoer's expectations are set to rock bottom pretty darned quickly. Once you're at bottom, ain't no place to go but up, setting the stage for some surprise attacks of humor that appear out of place, they're so good. There are some fantastic, tears-from-your-eyes moments, the best of which involves an illustration of onanism so extreme that the Roman Catholic church must surely object.
The film also succeeds in skewering those egotistical game designers who have developed god complexes, but few great games after an initial success. (Must resist the urge to insinuate a link to Romero in this paragraph, so will instead point out a divergence from the creator of high-profile flop Daikatana: the game designer who is the movie's chief villain proves incapable of landing his own Stevie Case look-alike.)
Other good stuff
- The movie is occasionally very, very funny. Tears streaming down the face funny. (This doesn't mean it's good. A good funny movie is a movie in which the spread between bad and good is relatively narrow and the movie is consistently funny. This one rollercoasters from high to low.)
- According to Joystiq's very own Chris Grant, who granted us an exclusive post-movie interview, the movie "succeeded in one arena that almost every movie involving video games fails at miserably: it captured much of gaming culture pretty well to varying degrees of accuracy." The actors used real controllers and played real games with them. Easier said than done, as so few movies get it right.
- The movie is curiously infatuated with drugs. We had to sit through the credits to see if they listed active sponsorship from the Cannabis Grower's Association. Perhaps the movie's myriad marijuana mentions are intended as a signpost, reading, "WARNING: WATCH SOBER AT YOUR OWN RISK." Drug references are fun when they're funny (as in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), but they just seem clumsy here.
- Occasionally, some of the game-related dialogue reminds us of the way that the mainstream press mangles video game patois, as when Kevin Nealon's game company CEO character says, "Wow, nice bump mapping. Very Miyamoto." What the hell does that mean? Then again, his character is intended to be ridiculous.
- The way we see it, there are two audiences for this movie. Potheads and hardcore gamers. If you're the former, there are better ways to spend $10. If you're the latter, there are better ways to spend $10. If you're both, well, go see it. It's not like you'll remember to come back here and flame us for recommending it to you.
Overall rating within the entire universe of films: 4.0 / 10
Rating within the subset of movies significantly about video games: 9.5 / 10
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nick paul craig @ Jan 4th 2006 2:06AM
this movie looks.. stupidly funny
bd @ Jan 4th 2006 2:26AM
Well, disregarding the fact that this is not a movies website, I think the article is being too harsh on the movie. It's a Happy Madison movie, so why expect much from it? Why rank it within the entire universe of movies anyway?
I don't mean to offend anyone, but this is the kind of article that would make the douchebag that said "videogames are not an art form coz they depend on choices lolz" happy.
People, don't expect a Lord of the Rings out of this, just go see this movie if you want to have a few minutes of fun, especially if you like videogames.
And while we're criticizing cinema, I'd like to say that this movie should most definitely better than any horror movie to date, whether or not "Grandma's boy" is good; "Scary movies" are usually (if not always) retarded and usually make little or no sense. They are fun though, that's why people go watch them. So if any movie is better than any horror movie, then this one should be worth watching.
bearattack79 @ Jan 4th 2006 2:37AM
That looks like my monkey, Im calling the cops.
ill trooper @ Jan 4th 2006 3:15AM
You know, you saw this sort of take on Cable Guy, Zoolander, Showgirls, Anchorman, Office Space, Harold & Kumar, etc. and now the majority of those are considered amazing by millions of groups of friends everywhere, who quote the lines to each other at any given moment. This might be the type of movie that really shines when it hits cable and shows a few times a week for a month - it may have to sit with you for a while.
I guess I have to see it and judge for myself how much I enjoy or hate it. Could be a gem, or maybe the dud you immediatley branded it.
But mostly, "Stay Classy, San Diego!"
Heretic @ Jan 4th 2006 3:52AM
some comedies are ment for certain people, and you guys must not be the certain people this one was aimed for. but, just like gaming and the rest of the world, its all about opinions.
mercatfat @ Jan 4th 2006 4:42AM
3. > You know, you saw this sort of take on Cable Guy, Zoolander, Showgirls, Anchorman, Office Space, Harold & Kumar, etc. and now the majority of those are considered amazing by millions of groups of friends everywhere, who quote the lines to each other at any given moment. This might be the type of movie that really shines when it hits cable and shows a few times a week for a month - it may have to sit with you for a while.
~~~
Harold and Kumar got pretty solid reviews, as did Anchorman to some extent. Office Space runs at 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. Zoolander runs a bit lower, but still maintains a "fresh" rating at 62%.
The Cable Guy and especially Showgirls are enjoyed as bad cinema that isn't boring cinema.
Grandma's Boy really only has a chance to be the latter, but I cast doubt.
DaVinci42 @ Jan 4th 2006 5:27AM
I saw this movie at the G.A.M.E. convention in San Francisco & laughed my ass off. It does start off a little bad, but the mediocre part doesn't last that long. It belongs with Harold & Kumar, & Zoolander. NOT with Cable Guy, etc.
The movie was so damn funny that the I almost forgot completely that it starts off slow. Then again I am a video game stoner(light). So I guess I'm their target audience. Its not for everyone, but it seemed to me that almost everyone else that watched the preview with me at G.A.M.E enjoyed the movie a great deal.
heat @ Jan 4th 2006 7:35AM
i started a fight club
byelaw @ Jan 4th 2006 7:49AM
Heat, you broke the first rule :)
DCSimian @ Jan 4th 2006 8:34AM
And the second :-p
Scott @ Jan 4th 2006 9:01AM
and Sadly, You have HIV
mike schleifstein @ Jan 4th 2006 10:42AM
dude!!! unneeded crotch shot in above photo has officially ruined my day! ugh, and not really safe for work....and the dude is hanging out of the shorts!
Jon @ Jan 4th 2006 11:35AM
"out of place, they're so good." Should this be rearranged or were you trying something new here?
burninhell @ Jan 4th 2006 12:44PM
WHY is this film getting so much attention here!?
Never mind that its oblique/sideways/non-review attention, but WHY?
Asa a gamer, I'm used to having my intelligence insulted, but does the fact that videogames play a part in a dipshit Hollywood comedy make it part of 'gaming culture' somehow??
Bloo @ Jan 4th 2006 2:17PM
"but does the fact that videogames play a part in a dipshit Hollywood comedy make it part of 'gaming culture' somehow??"
Um... yeah, of course it does.
nightshadow97 @ Jan 4th 2006 4:38PM
i hate the fact that only stoners are portrayed as video game players.....when in fact my drug of escape IS VIDEO GAMES.....i dont need WEED to play them....in fact i cant see how you could....i have to have a sharp mind to play them....i tried it once when i was buzzen on beer and i hated it.....
vc @ Jan 5th 2006 2:00AM
Jon: ""out of place, they're so good." Should this be rearranged or were you trying something new here?"
You may be parsing this wrong. It means: At some points, the humor appears to be out of place in this film because it's too good. It's like finding caviar on a hot dog, or a Rolls Royce in a trailer park.