Review:
"The War With Grandpa"
Release Date: Oct. 9, 2020
Rating: PG Running Time: 94 minutes The War With Grandpa once again finds the best actor of his generation at war with his legacy. Since scoring back-to-back hits with 1999’s Analyze This and 2000’s Meet the Parents, Robert De Niro has cheapened his immeasurable talent by starring in one mediocre studio comedy after another for the sake of a quick buck. For context, De Niro has only made one film with onetime frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, 2019’s The Irishman, during the same 20-year period he has slummed in at least 10 comedies precious few cherish or even remember. Director Tim Hill’s family feud The War With Grandpa is not the worst comedy De Niro’s made—hello, Dirty Grandpa—but it enforces the belief that what De Niro thinks is funny is not all that funny. The premise is simple: De Niro’s cantankerous widower Ed, no longer able to care for himself, moves in with the family of his loving daughter Sally (Uma Thurman). Ed then finds himself embroiled in a territorial dispute with his grandson Peter (Oakes Fegley), who resents having to give up his bedroom to the old grouch. Mayhem—but not necessary hilarity—ensues. Screenwriters Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember’s adaptation of Robert Kimmel Smith’s novel moves at a pace brisk enough to hold the attention of young kids who take immense pleasure in the sight of a senior citizen slipping on spilled marbles or regrettably exposing himself to his son-in-law (an appropriately mortified Rob Riggle). Hill handles the conflict escalation in moderately amusing but unimaginative fashion. At least the dodgeball bounce house showdown between De Niro’s posse (Christopher Walken, Cheech Marin, Jane Seymour) and Peter’s pals is staged to groin-numbing comic effect. Hill specializes in family features featuring anthropomorphic animals (Muppets from Space, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Hop), not two-time Oscar winners. This results in Hill failing to draw much interest or vigor out of De Niro. His workaround is to evoke De Niro’s onscreen mobster persona whenever possible in a bid to generate a few laughs, but this quickly grows tiresome. At least De Niro puts in enough of an effort to establish a strong bond with Fegley outside of their hostilities, which adds greater significance to the consequences of their actions. In comparison, Walken brings his trademark manic energy to the throwaway role of Ed’s best friend Jerry. You have to hand it to The War With Grandpa, though, for reuniting De Niro with his Deer Hunter costar Walken and his Mad Dog and Glory love interest Thurman (a good sport considering she is often the unintended target of The War With Grandpa’s campaign of terror). Too bad it is not under more meaningful circumstances. Robert Sims Aired: Oct. 8, 2020 Web sites: https://www.warwithgrandpa.com/ https://www.facebook.com/WarWithGrandpa/ |
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