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Movies / On DVD / Grandma's Boy
Grandma's Boy

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Grandma's Boy (2006)

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Reviews Counted:57

Fresh:9

Rotten:48

Average Rating:3.5/10

Consensus: A gross-out comedy that’s more gross than comedic, Grandma’s Boy is lazy and unrewarding.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Alex (ALLEN COVERT) has one sweet life. After walking away from his death by accounting job, he's now a video game tester at Brainasium, the company responsible for the worldwide gaming phenom of... Alex (ALLEN COVERT) has one sweet life. After walking away from his death by accounting job, he's now a video game tester at Brainasium, the company responsible for the worldwide gaming phenom of "Eternal Death Slayer." At 35, he may be the oldest tester in the business (he's called "Gray Bush" by his co-workers), but he's also the best. But when his roommate fails to pay the rent for six months because he's spent every last cent at Madame Wu's Filipino Palace ("They're not hookers, they're massage therapists!"), Alex unfortunately finds himself on the street. His friendly dealer Dante (PETER DANTE) can't let Alex crash because he has a business to run and besides, the guard lion will be arriving any day. His friend Jeff (NICK SWARDSON) agrees to put him up, until that unfortunate accident involving Alex and the action figure in the bathroom…which Jeff's mom happens to, well, catch. Alex's last resort is to move in with three hot babes—that's what he tells his friends, at any rate. In actuality, the 35-year-old finds himself living with his sweet and loving 80-year-old grandma Lilly (DORIS ROBERTS), along with her two roommates: the "been there, done that repeatedly" octogenarian Grace (SHIRLEY JONES) and the not-quite-all-there, overly medicated Bea (SHIRLEY KNIGHT). Lilly dotes on Alex and keeps him housed and fed—in exchange for a few simple chores around the place, like taking out the trash and sandblasting the house. So things are busy for Alex both at his new home and at work. Brainasium's New Age-y honcho Mr. Cheezle (KEVIN NEALON) has brought in hotshot (and really hot) gaming exec Samantha (LINDA CARDELLINI) from New York to help whip "Eternal Death Slayer Three" into shape before its street date. Seems the series' creator, über-nerd wiz kid J.P. (JOEL DAVID MOORE), has been coasting on his rep—he was a millionaire by the time he turned 13—and his newest entry has a few bugs. The game's kinks are no prob for Alex and the Brainasium testers (most of whom just started shaving), which leaves time for Alex to help Lilly with the house and to try and bag his new hot boss while continuing to work in secret developing his own game, called "Demonik." Things start to get tricky, though, once the cat's outta the bag about who Alex is really rooming with—that is until the gray ladies warm to Alex's friends at an after-work party, thanks to that special tea they found in his room. Who knew 80-somethings could be so at home with video geeks, a low-key dealer, an African tribesman and a smattering of strippers, along with their colorful clientele? Amazing what a few tokes and tequila slammers will do to loosen things up. But when jealous nerdboy J.P. swipes Alex’s "Demonik" and tries to pass it off as his own, it becomes a battle of Gen-Xers versus gin players when Samantha produces a secret weapon: Alex's grandma (and now master gamer) Lilly. --© 20th Century Fox [More]

Starring: Allen Covert, Shirley Knight, Shirley Jones, Linda Cardellini

Starring: Allen Covert, Shirley Knight, Shirley Jones, Linda Cardellini, Peter Dante, Doris Roberts, Kevin Nealon

Director: Nicholas Goossen

Director: Nicholas Goossen
Screenwriter: Allen Covert, Nick Swardson
Composer: Waddy Wachtel
Studio: 20th Century Fox

[See More Credits]

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  • Grandma And Alex Play The Game
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    Dance Dance Revolution
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    Trailer
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    Allen Covert Interview
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  • Doris Roberts, Shirley Jones, Shirley Knight Interview
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    Linda Cardellini Interview
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1 - 4 of 6

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Reviews for Grandma's Boy

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
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What distinguishes this freewheeling, strangely honest comedy (directed by first-timer Nicholaus Goossen) is its puff-and-pass-it-along view, an inviting, goofy-grin attitude toward insular losers.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
01/07/06
Robert Abele
Robert Abele
L.A. Weekly

Even if you aren't under the influence, you might find yourself chuckling at various points during the movie, if only in disbelief at some of the things the cast is asked to do.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment 1 Comment
03/01/07
Ethan Alter
Ethan Alter
Film Journal International

This is one of those movies where you stay rooted in your seat just to see how bad it can really get. And every time you think it has hit the bottom, the filmmakers find a passage taking them lower.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/08/06
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Even silly fun needs serious talent behind it.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
01/09/06
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News

Grandma's Boy combines pot-smoking, big breasts, African bushmen, octogenarians, video-gaming techno-geeks--and one inappropriate masturbation scene--in one feel-good movie perfect for teenage boys. If they can get in, that is.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
01/09/06
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

it's funny but so lowbrow you'll actually feel your brain cells dying

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/07/06
Keith Breese
Keith Breese
Filmcritic.com

No one here has the slightest idea what being elderly actually means or that old folks may once have been (and may still be) far hipper than the young men and women looking at them with fond incomprehension.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
01/09/06
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

Those who like America Pie and its spawn will likely find comfort in the jokes here.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
02/02/06
Chris Carle
Chris Carle
IGN Movies

There is no doubt that it belongs in Hollywood's sewer, but it's the gem of the sewer this year.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
01/06/06
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

As a short it could have emerged as inspired, but as a feature it feels tired, deflated, and far too familiar.

Full Review Source: FromTheBalcony | comment Comment
01/05/06
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

It's plenty stupid, often funny and occasionally pithy. That may add up to a movie you want to see, or it might add up to a movie that will make you ill.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/12/06
Tim Cogshell
Tim Cogshell
Boxoffice Magazine

"Grandma's Boy" is a pot- and potty-mouthed relative of an Adam Sandler movie.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment 6 Comments
01/14/06
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Everyone won't love Doris in this crude, boring movie

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment Comment
01/10/06
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

Covert is so obnoxious, so lacking in the basic understanding of comic timing, that we understand why he has to get his buddy Sandler to give him work.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
05/06/06
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

One of the most humorless attempts at comedy since the invention of Rob Schneider.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
01/06/06
Michael Ferraro
Michael Ferraro
Film Threat

Just as a few bong hits would probably make the movie a tiny bit funnier, they would also probably make all memories of the film blissfully vanish.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
01/06/06
Dan Fienberg
Dan Fienberg
Zap2it.com

It's a miracle that Jones, Knight and Roberts emerge with most of their dignity intact. Too bad the same can't be said for everyone else involved in this total waste of time.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/06/06
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

If nothing else, Grandma's Boy answers the question of what a ramshackle early Adam Sandler movie would be like without Adam Sandler.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment 1 Comment
11/27/06
Amelie Gillette
Amelie Gillette
AV Club

It's a one-line pitch in search of an actual script. And, given how difficult it is to sell a screenplay to a studio, much less get it made, it's really sad to see something this lazy and meager actually work its way through the system.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/09/06
Gary Goldstein
Gary Goldstein
Reel.com

Sufficiently oddball and the performers sufficiently likable to keep the whole thing from being painful.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
01/11/06
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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