The Best of the Worst ‘Dirty Grandpa’ Reviews
Zac Efron and Robert De Niro in ‘Dirty Grandpa’ (Lionsgate)
Dirty Grandpa (in theaters today) might be easily confused with Bad Grandpa, the 2013 surprise hit from the Jackass crew. But as critic Stephen Whitty puts it, “There’s an easy way to tell them apart: Bad Grandpa was funny.” The new film, in which an uptight young man (Zac Efron) takes his newly-widowed grandfather (Robert De Niro) on a wild Spring Break trip, is receiving abysmal reviews from critics, many of whom seem traumatized by the experience of watching seven-time Oscar nominee De Niro sink so low. Here are some choice lines from this morning’s brutal reviews, plus of the outlying semi-positive ones that have kept the film hovering at just under 10% on the Tomatometer.
“Humor, it must be acknowledged, is entirely subjective. What some people find hilarious, others find rude, even offensive. Indeed, it’s entirely possible that … wait, never mind. Forget all that. It can be definitively stated that Dirty Grandpa is utterly unfunny.” — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
“You know all that scum that Travis Bickle used to hope a real rain would come and wash away? This is the run-off.” — Stephen Witty, NY Daily News
“When Robert De Niro receives his inevitable lifetime achievement Oscar, don’t expect his highlight reel to include a single clip from Dirty Grandpa, a brutally unfunny stab at ribald comedy that stands as the legendary actor’s big-screen nadir.” — Nick Schager, Variety
“if you’re not amused by the concept of Robert De Niro saying words like ‘butt-f—‘ and ‘smegma,’ or several different old guys repeatedly calling Zac Efron a lesbian, don’t expect to laugh much.” — Matt Singer, Screencrush
“Someday, scholars will teach classes, warning them of what can happen when evil wins…This film needs to be studied so that what’s depicted here can never, ever happen again.” — Mike Ryan, Uproxx
“Efron, not a natural comic performer at the best of times, is here out-acted by his own pecs.” — Wendy Ide, Screen Daily
“A running gag in Dirty Grandpa involves Robert De Niro sticking his thumb in Zac Efron’s butt. But to use that as a metaphor to describe the experience of watching this poor excuse for a comedy, would be to actually suggest there’s any kind of spark to the film.” — Kevin Jagernauth, The Playlist
“The movie is so incredibly consistent in failing to land an honest laugh that about an hour into it, its not being funny becomes laughable: I began giggling with a kind of metaphysical embarrassment for everyone involved in the enterprise, and, eventually, for all of humanity itself. I see, scrawled in my notebook, the words ‘What is happening to our world?’” — Glenn Kenny, RogerEbert.com
“If Dirty Grandpa isn’t the worst movie of 2016, I have some serious cinematic torture in my near future.” — Richard Roeper, The Chicago Sun-Times
“Though this revelation tears my soul to shreds, Dirty Grandpa has robbed me even of my respect for Robert De Niro… All I know is, right now, I feel the kind of repellant second-hand embarrassment that rears its head during the holidays when a drunk, bigoted relative stands up in the middle of the living room to relay a pre-prepared speech you’re almost certain was gleaned entirely from the comments section of the internet.” — Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent
“Robert De Niro really goes for it, and it’s an accomplishment that the veteran actor naming all the members of Wu-Tang and rapping Ice Cube’s ‘It Was a Good Day’ comes off as appealing instead of desperate.” — Matt Pais, Red Eye Chicago
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