The first step is admitting it - I laughed at Bad Grandpa

10/30/13, Bad Grandpa

To say I was a little reluctant to even admit I was thinking of seeing Bad Grandpa, much less admitting that I actually saw it is a huge understatement (like the Minnesota Vikings are having an off year). I don't have any great expectations that Bad Grandpa will be nominated for any Oscars, but you never know, there were some pretty good sound effects. By nature, I'm a pretty solitary person, where most people are uncomfortable doing things by themselves, I'm uncomfortable doing things with people. Watching movies fits in perfectly with that personality. I prefer watching Woody Allen or my documentaries by myself. However, there are some movies that are better as a community event. I probably would have laughed really hard at Bridesmaids if I was by myself, but watching it with two of my good friends, I'm fairly certain I peed myself from laughing so hard. That's how it was with Bad Grandpa, two other friends (don't worry, I'm not going to start enumerating them for you) and I saw the preview a couple of months ago and couldn't stop laughing. We decided we were going to see it together. Almost immediately, I began having buyer's remorse, I mean, come on, I watch foreign films and documentary, not Jackass movies. So, time went by, and then the release date got closer. Crap, were we really going to do this? We set a date, and the three of us met up. The previews to Bad Grandpa were horrible, a bunch of stupid horror movies (sorry, that was judgmental, clearly I am not their target demographic). Finally, it started. I really don't want to spoil the movie, because part of the fun is being totally surprised and shocked at the outrageousness of Johnny Knoxville and crew. The premise is Grandpa Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) has to take his grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll) across the country from Nebraska to North Carolina. Along the way, Grandpa and Billy interact with regular people in every day settings (like a modern day Candid Camera on crack), and act in very inappropriate and ridiculous ways. There were more than a few moments where the three of us were in tears from laughing so hard, simultaneously cringing and hiding behind our hands in horror at what was going to come out of Grandpa's mouth, or worse, Billy's. The movie is like a travelogue from Nebraska to North Carolina, but cities like Cleveland and Columbus made several appearances instead of the cities along the imagined route. A part of me was like, "Yeah, Cleveland", and then when I saw the scenes, I was like, "Um, nice". I was excited to actually recognize the city before the end of the credits told me filming was done there (the red, white and blue RTA signs were a major giveaway, and then the street sign for St. Clair Avenue, and filming in front of my beloved Terminal Tower).  One of the many funny scenes was Billy pushing a drunk Grandpa in a shopping cart through a drive through trying to order and trying to pick up chicks (Grandpa is not shy about pursuing the ladies since Grandma recently passed away, oh the funeral is pretty hilarious). Ok, there are a lot of funny things, so I'll stop. This is not a child-oriented movie, which may seem like a no-brainer, but I have been to many R-Rated movies and because some "adult" thinks it's just funny and they bring their 12-year olds (seriously, people). Nobody will mistake this for an existential moralistic tale, but damn, it was funny. And after the past two weeks, I appreciated the convulsions of laughter.