DVD Corner

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa Blu-ray Review

“Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” takes the “Jackass” franchise in a new direction.

As you may or may not know, the first three “Jackass” films were comprised of random stunts and sight gags. In “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa,” the franchise takes a different route by having a narrative story mixed in with staged pranks done to an unsuspecting public ala “Borat.”  

The story of ‘Bad Grandpa’ naturally revolves around the titular character (Irving) who finds himself a bachelor after his longtime wife passes away at the start of the film. Enjoying his newfound freedom, Irving decides to live it up by trying to get laid. Unfortunately, his plans are cut short when his jailbound daughter leaves her son (his grandson) in his care. Not wanting to take care of him, Irving decides to embark on a road trip to deliver his grandson to his real deadbeat father in North Carolina. Throughout the cross country trip, the irresponsible Irving plays bingo, tries to score with women, steals, visits a male strip club, among other things. Amidst his wild trip, however, Irving begins to bond with his grandson Billy and slowly, but surely begins to re-think his decision.

As a fan of the “Jackass” TV series and films, I was intrigued by the change to the formula in “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa.” It’s clear that Johnny Knoxville and company can no longer engage in death defying stunts as their bodies simply cannot handle the abuse anymore (plus they aren’t getting any younger). Doing hidden camera films instead opens up a lot of possibilities for different characters and cast members to have their own feature films. The first “experiment” (‘Bad Grandpa’) turned out to be a huge hit and is, for the most part, a critical success.

While not as consistently funny as the previous 3 films due to its over reliance on reaction shots and somewhat clunky pacing, there’s still many gut bustingly funny moments here like the malfunctioning ride, the hoagie, and, of course, the restaurant “accident.” Perhaps the film’s greatest strength though is the casting of Jackson Nicoll as Billy. Acting opposite non-actors in hidden camera segments is a tough role for any actor, but Nicoll knocks it out of the park with some great line deliveries and even funnier interactions with random people on the street. Additionally, he brings a real heart to the film thanks to his chemistry with fellow co-star Johnny Knoxville (who is covered in Academy Award nominated makeup work). Speaking of Knoxville, he’s as fearless and funny as ever. Whether he’s destroying a penguin or offending someone, you can always count on him for laughter.

Note: The Blu-ray disc contains the theatrical and extended unrated cut. The theatrical cut is your best option as the extended cut adds very little.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? The video quality is not the greatest for the hidden camera scenes (which is to be expected). The scripted scenes and shots of the various locals, however, look tremendous.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD. How does it sound? In a word, weak. The music is nice and loud, but the dialogue tends to be rather low due to the hidden camera style.

Extras:
* DVD copy and Ultraviolet digital copy.
* $15 off Ticketmaster coupon.
* “Behind The Scenes”- Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville and others provide insight into 8 key sequences. The best part of these bonus features is viewing footage that didn’t make the cut and seeing unsuspecting people learn that a film is being made.
* “Alternate Marks”- 6 amusing reaction shots from people that didn’t make the final cut.
* 3 disappointing deleted scenes. Sadly, none of the material with Spike Jonze made the deleted scenes list which is what most fans were looking forward to. Perhaps they will be released on a future home video release someday?

Overall Thoughts: While not for all tastes, “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa” is one of the top tier comedies of the past few years. Check it out.

February 9, 2014 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Jackass Movies, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa Blu-ray Review, Johnny Knoxville