Grandma's Boy

Critically bashed and a box-office stinker, Grandma's Boy was shown no love when it was released earlier this year. Was this justified? Not at all, as this comedy is absolutely hilarious at times and, even though a little cruder, is really no different than any of producer Adam Sandler's early films. The under-appreciated Allen Covert plays leading man Alex, who makes a living as a video game tester and who loses his apartment when his dim-witted roommate spends the last few months’ rent on Filipino hookers. Alex is offered a place to stay with his grandmother Lilly (Doris Roberts) and her two aging roommates, and this is where the movie could’ve slipped, but there's a subtle twist to this scenario: Alex loves his grandmother very much and isn’t ashamed to show it. Sure, he misleads his friends into believing that he's living with hot models, but Grandma's Boy doesn't base its plot on Alex trying to hide the fact that he lives with Lilly. And when a sexy new boss (Linda Cardellini) rolls in, Alex doesn't hide a thing from her so there's no miscommunication where down the road he has to try and win her back. Had these elements not been present Grandma's Boy would have flopped but because there's really no plot at all you can just sit back and enjoy the thousands of pot references. The DVD is packed with extras, though many could have been condensed. Given the fact that the film is mainly improvised, there are numerous alternate takes and uncut footage. None of it is really that interesting, though some of Nick Swardson's lines about his race car bed are amusing. There's a small featurette on the making of the masturbation scene, which is actually one of the least funny moments of the film, and the commentary and wisecracking from cast members surrounding the incident doesn't help. Horrible music videos and the "making of” said music videos are completely unnecessary, but thankfully often-humorous commentary from Covert, Swardson and Peter Dante make up for the lack of substance on these extras. (Fox)