Happy Madison Productions doesn't crank out too many great movies in my opinion (e.g. The Master of Disguise, 50 First Dates, Click, the list goes on), but Grandma's Boy was solid gold. I can honestly say this is one of the best comedies I've seen in a long time; perhaps it's because Adam Sandler wasn't there to ruin it with his limited range (although, he does get mad props for Spanglish and Little Nicky).
The movie stars Allen Covert as Alex, a 35 year old laid-back video game tester who is commonly referred to by his co-workers as "The Gray Bush," as Alex is easily the oldest and most experienced tester at the company. After being immediately evicted from his home due to the actions of an irresponsible roommate, he attempts to persuade both his constantly stoned dealer, Dante (Peter Dante) and his co-worker, Jeff (Nick Swardson) to allow him to temporarily crash at their houses. Unfortunately for Alex, there are several circumstances and mishaps, including lions and embarrassing bathroom situations involving a horribly disgusted mother and a Lara Croft action figure in compromising positions, that prevent either of these from happening. Alex has no other option but to room with his Grandma Lilly (Doris Roberts) and her two roommates: a promiscuous cynic (Shirley Jones) and a heavily-medicated space cadet (Shirley Knight). The fun continues when a house party goes down and Grandma and company get a little under the influence.
At work, Alex interacts regularly with J.P. (Joel Moore), a self-described super-genius who is viewed by everyone else as more of a super-geek. When their supervisor Mr. Cheezle (Kevin Nealon) brings in Samantha (Linda Cardellini), a sexy production manager, to whip the testers into shape and speed along the release of J.P.'s latest masterpiece of a video game, Alex and J.P. are both immediately attracted to her. Samantha and Alex begin to develop a playful relationship and, as you can imagine, this competition causes some humorous tiffs in the workplace. When J.P. goes a little too far, it's up to Grandma Lilly to save her grandson - in a most unusual way.
I could have personally cared less about Alex, as he was just a pebble in my shoe throughout this entire movie. Maybe he had several good parts, but the way Covert portrayed his character just seemed so forced; comparable to that kid you knew in school that no one liked because he tried way too hard to be cool. The supporting roles, especially Jeff and Dante, literally carried this movie; all of them just seemed so outrageous and impractical that I had no other choice but to laugh at them and love them. If I wanted to see someone behave as banally as Alex I could go outside and watch some people walk past on their way to work; he's just too commonplace. Although Dante's acting wasn't top-notch either, he easily redeemed himself because everything that came out of his mouth was ridiculously amusing. Moore's performance as J.P. was amazing. He competently grasped all of the stereotypes of a technologically-obsessed uber-nerd that was essential to the character and took it to the absolute extreme. For example, talking like a robot, dressing like he's from the Matrix, and he even rides around on one of those Segway Scooters.
The movie had an interesting soundtrack featuring The Twenty-Twos, Fischerspooner, The Futureheads, along with plenty of other artists representing different genres. The only thing concerning the soundtrack that I was a little unhappy about was that a lot of the tracks were just audio clips from the movie. I think it's perfectly acceptable to have only 10 songs, rather than just trying to supply fillers so someone can make more money off of it. It just takes away from it all.
Beware, kiddies, there are strong sexual references, a booby or two, drug and alcohol references, and enough crude humor to keep even me entertained. All in all, highly recommended.
"Grandma's Boy" opens January 6, 2006 and is rated R. Comedy. Directed by Nicholas Goossen. Written by Barry Wernick, Allen Covert, Nick Swardson. Starring Allen Covert, Doris Roberts, Joel Moore, Jonah Hill, Kevin Nealon, Linda Cardellini, Nick Swardson, Peter Dante, Shirley Jones, Shirley Knight.
