Robert De Niro’s new movie involves a raucous road trip to Daytona Beach and has been described as “possibly the worst film anyone has ever been in”. Steady on. That’s far too kind.
True, it may appeal to those suffering from dementia. Short-term memory loss needn’t be a problem, with a script that reminds us every five minutes that recently widowed Dick (De Niro, not at his best, to put it mildly) wants to screw a college girl, enjoys goosing his pretty grandson (Zac Efron) and thinks the worst thing a man can be is a hen-pecked “vagina”.
Of course, to fully enjoy Dirty Grandpa you’ll also need a high tolerance for stories in which a top dog continually triumphs. Grandpa thinks he’s hot stuff. Grandpa is hot stuff! When not successfully flirting with bikini-clad-babes, the well-endowed and super-strong Dick bests an array of young black men — scary straight ones, plus a flouncy gay one too. These simple souls admire Dick for telling it like it is (when he uses the n-word, he receives a round of applause). Imagine wandering into one of Rod Liddle’s wet dreams. Yuk. Yuk. Yuk.
Dirty Grandpa — like Stand Up Guys and Last Vegas — is a viagra film, part of a genre designed to flatter ageing men. Although John Phillips’s script insults even this demographic. When Dick goes to visit one-time colleague Stinky (Danny Glover) he’s horrified to discover that Stinky is in a wheelchair, dying. We never see the character again. He’s infirm and therefore, according to the film, not worth the time of day. Dirty Grandpa is, on top of every thing else, ageist. Its horrible message: the old are only interesting when they’re capable of aping the young
Cert 15, 102 mins
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