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Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox film

| name = Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

| image = Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa.jpg

| alt = A white-haired old man holds a six-pack of beer in one hand and in the other he carries a boy by the waistband of his pants

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = Jeff Tremaine

| screenplay =

| story =

| producer =

| starring =

| cinematography =

| editing =

| music =

| studio =

| distributor = Paramount Pictures

| released =

| runtime = 92 minutes

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $15 million

| gross = $151.8 million

}}

'Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa' (also known as 'Bad Grandpa') is a 2013 American hidden camera comedy film directed by Jeff Tremaine and written by Tremaine, Spike Jonze and Johnny Knoxville. It is the second film to use the title "Jackass Presents" of the 'Jackass' franchise. The film stars Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll and 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 narrative that connects the stunts and pranks together (in a manner reminiscent of 'Borat'), as opposed to the three original 'Jackass' films which did not have a story.

The film became the first installment in the 'Jackass' film series to be nominated for an Oscar, with head makeup artist Stephen Prouty being nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 86th Academy Awards.

Plot



Irving Zisman's wife dies and he is overjoyed. However, he is stuck with his grandson, Billy, because his mother, Kimmie, violated her parole and is going back to jail. Kimmie urges Irving to make sure Billy makes it to his father. Irving and Billy get on a video call with Billy's deadbeat dad, Chuck, and instructs Irving to take Billy down to Raleigh, North Carolina by 2 P.M. Sunday.

To make money, Irving sells his late wife's belongings, and later calls over 2 men to get her dead body into the trunk of his car. Irving and Billy hit the road, and Billy is hungry, so Irving pulls over to a nearby market. He tries to flirt with a woman as Billy goes on a ride that does not work. Irving tries the ride and it springs off its base.

Miffed, Irving tries to ship Billy to North Carolina through the post office, but his attempt is not successful. After, he goes to play Bingo, leading to shenanigans, as Billy wanders off asking a random man to be his dad.

Billy gets hungry again, so the two go to a supermarket. Irving shoplifts and makes himself and Billy a sandwich. The two are then halted by staff.

Irving and Billy stop at a motel, and Irving goes to a black men strip club so he could get women while they are aroused. He starts stripping as his testicles hang out of his underwear, driving everyone in the club insane.

As they approach North Carolina, Irving tries to use Billy to find a woman to hook up with, but they all turn him down. They drive to a diner where Irving crashes into a large penguin statue, where a customer who promotes the diner commands him to fix it. They go in the diner and try to entertain each other by farting, but Irving accidentally defecates on the wall and they leave.

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 and into the wedding cake, crashing onto the floor.

Irving drives Billy to a bar where they are meeting Chuck. Chuck is speaking with a member of a biker organization called Guardians of the Children, which assists abused children. Irving goes in the bar and asks him to make sure that Billy is taken care of, and bids Billy farewell. As Irving drives away, he immediately starts to miss Billy and drives back to the bar to get Billy back. Chuck's bad parenting is noticed by the G.O.C. and thus Irving successfully gets Billy as the members hold Chuck back.

To celebrate, Irving and Billy crash a beauty pageant after spotting a flyer for it on their road trip. After, Irving drives up to a bridge where he and Billy finally get rid of Ellie's body by throwing it into a river and proceed to go fishing.

Cast



* Johnny Knoxville as Irving Zisman

* Jackson Nicoll as Billy Zisman-Muskie

* Greg Harris as Chuck Muskie

* Georgina Cates as Kimmie Zisman

* 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 Zisman

Production



In March 2012, Johnny Knoxville discussed the possibility of a fourth 'Jackass' movie, saying "we're keeping our mind open" and "I've got 5060 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 Bam 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 released on October 25, 2013. Knoxville revealed that he and director Jeff Tremaine had been approached about 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 film was dedicated to 'Jackass' cast member Ryan Dunn, who died in 2011.

Much of 'Bad Grandpa' was filmed in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, as well as North Carolina. The first scene shot featured Irving enraging golfers on a Columbus 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." Alterian, Inc.'s prosthetic Irving Zisman makeup took three and a half hours to apply to Knoxville every morning. 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."

Release



Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 61% based on 112 reviews, with an average rating of 5.52/10. The site's critics consensus states: "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." Metacritic, gave it a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 86th Academy Awards, but lost to the biographical drama 'Dallas Buyers Club'.

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 of '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 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." 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." 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." 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."

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." 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." 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." 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."

Amy Nicholson of 'The Village Voice' gave the film a negative review, saying "By Jackass standards, 'Bad Grandpa' is benignit's neither as fun nor as thrilling as watching Knoxville play tetherball with a beehive." 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." 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." 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."

Box office

'Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa' grossed $102,003,019 in North America, and $48,900,000 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $150,903,019. In North America, the film opened to #1 in its first weekend, with $32,055,177. In its second weekend, the film dropped to number two, grossing an additional $20,010,303. In its third weekend, the film stayed at number two, grossing $11,326,977. In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to number five, grossing $7,421,536.

Home media

'Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa' was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 28, 2014, in its theatrical version and an unrated version.

'Bad Grandpa .5'



A version of the film with unused footage, titled 'Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5', includes over 40 minutes of additional outtakes and interviews, and premiered June 15, 2014, on MTV. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 8, 2014.

References




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