Dir. by Nicholaus Goossen - 1 hr. 34 min.
Official Trailer
by Clayton Hollifield
Is this a good movie? Well, that's a complicated question. A movie can be good without being good, in the sense that a candy bar is sometimes exactly what you need to eat. Would a carrot be better for you? Perhaps, but you may not always be in the mood to eat a carrot. "Grandma's Boy" is that kind of good - it's a candy bar when you need it.
One thing I appreciated very much about "Grandma's Boy" was that, in spite of numerous opportunities to turn itself into a paint-by-numbers "save the house" movie, it never really turns in that direction. Early on, Alex (Allan Covert) is evicted from his house because his roomie has been spending both of their rent money on exotic massages, but instead of rallying to save that situation, it leads to a couple of dicey guest stints (a memorable one involving Nick Swardson's character, a co-worker who still lives at home and sleeps in a race-car bed). Eventually, Alex lands with his grandmother (Doris Roberts) and her two similarly-aged roommates (Shirley Jones and Shirley Knight).
With that settled, the story settles into two-pronged approach - a love story involving a consultant called in to help keep production deadlines (Alex works at a video game publisher), and the professional story about keeping those deadlines. Since this is a light comedy, you probably already know where these storylines are going to end up, but since this is a light comedy, it's all about the ride. And the ride is pretty damned funny. Two of the main actors (Allan Covert and Peter Dante) show up in pretty much everything that Adam Sandler has ever done, and are clearly used to working with one another. In smaller roles, Nick Swardson and Jonah Hill get the chance to chip in asides and one-liners, which works pretty well for them. Kevin Nealon plays a suitably odd, new-agey boss, and the sort of villain (J.P, played by Joel David Moore) is so bizarre and socially awkward that it feels like someone like that could really exist.
Probably the best thing I can say is that, while this isn't a great movie, it's infinitely re-watchable. I've seen this one around half a dozen times, and I still laugh all the way through it. "Grandma's Boy" doesn't set huge goals, but it does stay entertaining all the way through, and if it's on TV, I'm definitely not changing the channel.
3 / 5 - DVD
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