Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jeff Tremaine
Screenplay by	Jeff Tremaine Johnny Knoxville Spike Jonze
Story by	Fax Bahr Spike Jonze Johnny Knoxville Adam Small Jeff Tremaine
Produced by	Johnny Knoxville Jeff Tremaine Derek Freda Spike Jonze
Starring	Johnny Knoxville Jackson Nicoll
Cinematography	Lance Bangs Dimitry Elyashkevich
Production companies	MTV Films Dickhouse Productions
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	October 25, 2013 (2013-10-25)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Box office	$49,658,332

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is a 2013 American hidden camera comedy film directed by Jeff Tremaine and written by Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville, and Spike Jonze. It is the fourth installment in the Jackass film series The film stars Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll. It was produced by MTV Films and Dickhouse Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was released on October 25, 2013. Bad Grandpa has a loose plot that connects the stunts and pranks together as opposed to the three original Jackass films which had no plot.

The film's plot revolves around an 86-year-old man named Irving Zisman who takes his grandson Billy on a road trip across the United States, and hidden cameras were rolling as they perform stunts and pranks.

Plot

Eighty-six-year-old Irving Zisman's wife, Ellie (Catherine Keener), has just passed away, to his great sadness (as well as slight enjoyment). At the funeral, his daughter Kimmie (Georgina Gates) shows up with Irving's 8-year-old grandson, Billy (Jackson Nicholl), and Kimmie pulls Irving out to talk to him. She has a loud conversation with him saying she's going back to jail for violating her parole, and she orders Irving to make sure Billy is taken to live with his father until she's released. Irving reluctantly agrees and they re-enter the church. Kimmie starts to steal a pearl necklace from Ellie's casket, but Irving goes to stop her. Their struggle ends up pushing Irving into the casket, spilling Ellie's corpse onto the floor to the horror of everyone in attendance.

Irving takes Billy to a restaurant to meet with a counselor while they contact Billy's dad Chuck (Greg Harris) via webcam to inform him of the current circumstances. Chuck turns out to be a deadbeat jerk who refuses to take Billy in as he cannot afford to. He proceeds to take a hit from his bong as his girlfriend comes in to remind him that he can get child support for Billy, so he instructs Irving to take Billy down to Raleigh, North Carolina to drop him off with Chuck by Sunday at 2:00.

Before they leave, Irving starts selling Ellie's belongings. He tries to sell her bed to a potential customer and then offers to test it out. He hands her a pad with a button to adjust the bed, but once she presses it, the bed folds rapidly, bending Irving repeatedly. The customer is then too freaked out to buy the bed. Later, Irving calls a couple of unwitting guys to come help take the bed out, though he really asks them to help him and Billy carry Ellie's body to the trunk of his car, since he felt that she needs to be taken south to be buried properly.

Irving and Billy hit the road not long after getting everything together. Billy says he's hungry, so Irving pulls over to a nearby market where a woman is selling food. He tries to hit on her while Billy goes on a kiddie ride outside the shop. He tells Irving that it's not working, forcing Irving to test it out. He ends up getting shot through the window as the ride springs off it's base, startling everybody else. Frustrated, Irving tries to ship Billy off to North Carolina in a box. He takes him to the post office, but because Billy keeps moving and speaking, the two women in the place open it and are shocked to find him in there. Before he can get in anymore trouble, he says he'll just take Billy back on the road.

Irving leaves Billy in the car as he goes to a rec center to play Bingo with other older folks. Irving starts to drink the ink from the markers before pulling out a margarita maker and blending drinks for everybody. He mentions that he visited a country where lemon juice was squirted on a man's penis to determine if he had a disease, then proving his being clean by squirting lemon juice on his own penis. Irving then proceeds to hit on the women there, making them laugh or repulsing them. Meanwhile, Billy leaves the car to walk around and stop an older gentlemen to get him to tie his shoe. He keeps him talking for a few minutes while trying to coax the man into adopting him.

The two stop in a supermarket when Billy gets hungry again. Irving takes food out from their containers and makes himself and Billy sandwiches, which is seen by the employees. A woman comes out to chastise Irving for eating without paying and criticize him for influencing Billy. Still, Irving gets Billy to smuggle some items and run from the manager, who yells at Irving even as he tries flirting.

The two pull into a motel for the day. They pull Ellie's corpse out of the trunk since Irving thinks it would be disrespectful to leave it in the car, all while a man watches them in displeasure. Irving then asks the man if he knows where there is a strip club around here so he can seduce a black woman. The man points him out to one and he leaves Billy in the room.

Irving goes to a club featuring male performers. He tells one of the dancers that he plans on waiting until the women are so aroused by the dancers for him to swoop in and make his move. He starts talking to a group of women, making them laugh despite his crass behavior. When the men start to dance, Irving jumps on the dance floor and pulls down his pants. Everybody runs away while laughing in surprise and disgust. At the same time, Billy leaves the motel room to find Irving. He goes to another strip club and then to an adult book store. The book store employee offers to watch him while they find his grandpa, and Billy tells her that she looks like a stripper, naming her Cinnamon. Irving eventually comes back home before they have to hit the road again.

As they near North Carolina, Irving tries to use Billy as bait to find a woman to hook up with. The women they speak to find Billy adorable, but they all turn Irving down. They drive to a diner where Irving drives into a large penguin statue, arguing with one of the employees about fixing it. In the diner, Billy asks why he has to stay with his dad when he doesn't like him very much. Irving insists that he has to go with him, and then he farts. They get into a gassy contest, which ends when Irving pushes too hard and defecates against a wall. They proceed to leave and later play some basketball while Billy asks Irving if he can take him fishing.

On another misadventure, Billy gets hungry yet again and Irving takes him to a church where a wedding reception is taking place. During a group photo, Irving swipes a glass of champagne, causing the whole tower of glasses to collapse, and he ends up falling on top of the table, spilling the cake on the floor. Billy seizes the opportunity to eat the cake.

Irving eventually makes it to Raleigh and drives Billy to a bar where they are meeting Chuck. Chuck is talking to a member of a biker organization called Guardians of Children, who help abused kids. Chuck explains that Billy will allow for him to get child support just as Irving and Billy walk in the door. Irving asks Chuck to make sure that Billy is well taken care of, though he rudely responds to Irving that he'll get the job done. Irving bids Billy farewell and they say they love each other, just as the GOC members watch the scene. As Irving leaves tearfully, one GOC member comes out to assure him that they'll keep an eye on Billy. Irving drives away, but quickly starts to miss Billy and reminisces about their time on the road. He proceeds to turn the car around and drive back to the bar to get Billy back, just as Chuck is showing off his bad parenting by denying Billy any food in the place. Irving calls Billy to him, but Chuck prepares to fight the old man. The GOC members pull the two away from each other and allow Irving to leave with Billy while they hold Chuck off and warn him there will be trouble if he acts threateningly. Irving thanks the bikers for their help and they drive off, but not before accidentally hitting and tipping over a row of motorcycles.

To celebrate their reunion, Irving and Billy crash a child beauty pageant after spotting a flyer for it on their road trip earlier. Billy gets dressed up as a girl and charms most of the judges, even though one reigning child champion and her mother note the unusual event of a girl being there with a grandpa. Billy dresses up as a sailor girl to put on a show while "My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean" plays. It appears cute until he rips off the outfit to reveal him wearing women's underwear and then put on a risque dance to "Cherry Pie". The other parents and girls are stunned, and Irving tops it off by walking onstage and throwing Billy dollar bills. His wig falls off and the two run out.

Irving drives up to a bridge where he and Billy finally get rid of Ellie's body by throwing it into the river. The two then proceed to fish, fulfilling Billy's desires.

During the credits are outtakes, behind-the-scenes looks at Johnny Knoxville performing as Irving in the outrageous stunts, and the reactions of all the extras when the filmmakers pop out to inform them that they're shooting a movie.

Cast

• Johnny Knoxville as Irving Zisman
• Jackson Nicoll as Billy
• Greg Harris as Chuck
• Georgina Cates as Kimmie
• Kamber Hejlik as Doctor
• Jill Kill as Pageant Reporter
• Madison Davis as Juggalo Girl
• George Faughnan as Juggalo Guy
• Grasie Mercedes as Hostess
• Marilynn Allain as Receptionist
• Jack Polick as Funeral Worker
• Spike Jonze as Gloria
• Catherine Keener as Ellie

Production

In March 2012, Knoxville discussed the possibility of a fourth Jackass movie, saying "we're keeping our mind open" and "I've got 50–60 ideas on top of all the stuff we didn't get to shoot." Then in June 2012, it was reported Paramount "registered several domains for a film that would be called Jackass 4: Bad Grandpa." During Margera's September 18, 2012 interview on The Howard Stern Show about Jackass he said: "There's going to be a whole movie about Knoxville's grandpa character." The film was officially announced on July 17, 2013, and was released on October 25, 2013. Knoxville revealed he and director Jeff Tremaine had been approached on making a film featuring the Irving Zisman character, but held off as they did not feel a plot consisting of pranking the public would be able to carry an entire film. Eventually, Tremaine and Knoxville came up with a story to structure the pranks around.

The first scene shot featured Irving enraging golfers on a Columbus, Ohio course, where he was working as a groundskeeper. "At that point all of my hesitancy just washed away," Knoxville said. "We got so much funny stuff that we knew we had something special." The Irving Zisman makeup took three hours to apply to Knoxville. Five hours were needed for scenes requiring Knoxville to remove his shirt. Jackson Nicoll was cast as Billy, Irving Zisman's grandson. Knoxville cast Nicoll after working with him on the 2012 film Fun Size. "Jackson would just follow me on the set and verbally assault me while hitting me in the zipper," Knoxville said. "I was just shaking my head thinking that this kid is a piece of work. He's unbelievable. I think he was sent from heaven."

Reception

Critical response

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa has received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 61% approval rating with an average rating of 5.4/10 based on 83 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Never quite as funny as it wants to be, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa still offers viewers the timeless pleasures of seeing an old man get his privates stuck in a vending machine." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 54 based on 29 reviews.

Ashley Clark of Time Out gave the film two out of five stars, saying "In Bad Grandpa, there's no shock value: the physical comedy is down to a minimum, replaced by a creaking humour almost as dated as Zisman himself." Scott Foundas Variety gave the film a positive review, saying "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa shows there's still comic life in this decade-old franchise - provided, of course, the sight of a senior citizen getting his penis caught in a vending machine is the kind of thing that brings a smile to your face." Amy Nicholson of LA Weekly gave the film a C, saying "The joke is really on Knoxville, who, despite flinging himself through a glass wall and rigging up a fake poo-sprayer in his pants, gets fewer laughs than his boy sidekick." Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News gave the film a negative review, saying "Knoxville and the perfectly cast Nicoll have great chemistry throughout. But longtime "Jackass" director Jeff Tremaine consistently cuts away too quickly, undermining each joke in order to rush on to the next." Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film two out of four stars, saying "Although we're allowed the perverse pleasure of watching Irving commit one inappropriate act after another, our sense of horror/delight dissipates after each one." Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film two out of four stars, saying "Some of the pranks are masterfully executed; the beauty pageant and a disastrous funeral near the beginning stand out. But on the whole, Bad Grandpa can't locate a consistent groove."

Peter Keough of The Boston Globe gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Though at times it grows predictable and more inane than outrageous, Bad Grandpa gets more than its share of cheap laughs." Colin Covert of the Star Tribune gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Bad Grandpa has the thrill of a dirty joke, brilliantly told. This film is emphatically not for everyone, but if it’s not for you, too bad." Scott Bowles of USA Today gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa not only stands as the best installment (by bounds) of Johnny Knoxville's hidden-camera franchise; it's one of the sharpest comedies of the year." Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times gave the film three and a half stars out of five, saying "It's hard to score big laughs with hidden-camera material these days because there has been so much of it since the "Jackass" TV show, but Mr. Knoxville and his young sidekick still land a few jaw-droppers." Alonso Duralde of The Wrap gave the film a positive review, saying "When the three-act structure gets shoved to the side for fun and games, Bad Grandpa delivers some of the heartiest laughs I've had all year."

Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times gave the film three and a half stars out of five, saying "The film has a story complete with a beginning, middle and end. It has some acting and emotion. And most shocking of all - it has empathy." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B–, saying "You'll occasionally laugh out loud, but the heart of the movie is safe enough to chuckle at." Sam Adams of Time Out New York gave the film two out of five stars, saying "Apart from a handful of physical stunts and the penultimate biker-bar setup, Knoxville never puts himself at risk, and the imbalance of power curdles the imperative to laugh at the rubes." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "It's not really a movie. It's Johnny Knoxville and his Jackass crew faking out real people into believing he's 86-year-old Irving Zisman, an old fart bag traveling cross-country." Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying "Fans of the MTV series and related flicks will be quite entertained by this latest extrusion from the Jackass factory. But like the lime-green bingo dabber contents Irving drinks down to the horror of his seatmates, it’s an acquired taste."

R. Kurt Osenlund of Slant Magazine gave the film a half a star out of four, saying "A choppy, feature-length progression of crude, predictable gags, Bad Grandpa plays like a variety show, and yet its main attraction is barely funny enough to warrant his own brief sketch." Amy Nicholson of The Village Voice gave the film a negative review, saying "By Jackass standards, Bad Grandpa is benign—it’s neither as fun nor as thrilling as watching Knoxville play tetherball with a beehive." Steve Rose of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, saying "Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat set the bar very high for this type of narrative-driven prankery, and in comparison, Bad Grandpa comes across as disjointed and aimless." Kyle Ryan of The A.V. Club gave the film a B–, saying "No one will ever mistake the Jackass franchise for good cinema, but it never aspired to that. It was always about allowing the gleeful anarchy of the TV series to escape the constraints of television — to be more outrageous, gross, and profane than the FCC would ever allow."

Box office

As of October 25, 2013, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa has grossed $32,000,000 in North America, and $8,100,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $40,100,000. In North America, the film opened to #1 in its first weekend, with $32,055,177.

External links

• Official website
• Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa at IMDb
• Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa at Rotten Tomatoes
• Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa at Box Office Mojo