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Grandma's Boy (2006) DVD Review
Grandma's Boy (2006) DVD Credits:
Grandma's Boy (2006) Directed by:
Nicholaus Goossen
Grandma's Boy (2006) Written by:
Allen Covert, Nick Swardson, Barry Wernick
Grandma's Boy (2006) Cast:
Linda Cardellini, Allen Covert, Peter Dante, Shirley Jones, Shirley Knight, Joel David Moore, Kevin Nealon, Doris Roberts, Nick Swardson, Rob Schneider, David Spade
Grandma's Boy (2006) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Grandma's Boy (2006) DVD Release Date:
8th May 2006
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Grandma's Boy (2006) Synopsis:

Alex (ALLEN COVERT) has one sweet life. After walking away from his death by accounting job, he’s now a video game tester at Brainasium, the company responsible for the worldwide gaming phenom of “Eternal Death Slayer.” At 35, he may be the oldest tester in the business (he’s called “Gray Bush” by his co-workers), but he’s also the best. But when his roommate fails to pay the rent for six months because he’s spent every last cent at Madame Wu’s Filipino Palace (“They’re not hookers, they’re massage therapists!”), Alex unfortunately finds himself on the street. His friendly dealer Dante (PETER DANTE) can’t let Alex crash because he has a business to run and besides, the guard lion will be arriving any day. His friend Jeff (NICK SWARDSON) agrees to put him up, until that unfortunate accident involving Alex and the action figure in the bathroom…which Jeff’s mom happens to, well, catch. Alex’s last resort is to move in with three hot babes—that’s what he tells his friends, at any rate. In actuality, the 35-year-old finds himself living with his sweet and loving 80-year-old grandma Lilly (DORIS ROBERTS), along with her two roommates: the “been there, done that repeatedly” octogenarian Grace (SHIRLEY JONES) and the not-quite-all-there, overly medicated Bea (SHIRLEY KNIGHT). Lilly dotes on Alex and keeps him housed and fed—in exchange for a few simple chores around the place, like taking out the trash and sandblasting the house. So things are busy for Alex both at his new home and at work. Brainasium’s New Age-y honcho Mr. Cheezle (KEVIN NEALON) has brought in hotshot (and really hot) gaming exec Samantha (LINDA CARDELLINI) from New York to help whip “Eternal Death Slayer Three” into shape before its street date. Seems the series’ creator, über-nerd wiz kid J.P. (JOEL DAVID MOORE), has been coasting on his rep—he was a millionaire by the time he turned 13—and his newest entry has a few bugs. The game’s kinks are no prob for Alex and the Brainasium testers (most of whom just started shaving), which leaves time for Alex to help Lilly with the house and to try and bag his new hot boss while continuing to work in secret developing his own game, called “Demonik.” Things start to get tricky, though, once the cat’s outta the bag about who Alex is really rooming with—that is until the gray ladies warm to Alex’s friends at an after-work party, thanks to that special tea they found in his room. Who knew 80-somethings could be so at home with video geeks, a low-key dealer, an African tribesman and a smattering of strippers, along with their colorful clientele? Amazing what a few tokes and tequila slammers will do to loosen things up. But when jealous nerdboy J.P. swipes Alex’s “Demonik” and tries to pass it off as his own, it becomes a battle of Gen-Xers versus gin players when Samantha produces a secret weapon: Alex’s grandma (and now master gamer) Lilly.

Grandma's Boy (2006) DVD Review:

Grandma’s Boy is a stoner’s comedy through and through. It would be cruder than it is, but that would take more energy, which is not what stoner comedies are about. Stoner comedies are more concerned with munchies and finding a way to smoke weed when you are living with your grandma. Grandma’s Boy is about grown men living at home, playing video games, smoking weed and jerking off to nude action figures. It is ridiculous, but if you have ever met someone that falls into this category, this film will bring a few laughs home. There isn’t much to the plot of the film, but what stoner comedy has a complicated plot?

Happy Madison Productions is usually pretty good about giving actors their dues, and this time it is Allen Covert’s turn. Covert has long been a character player and writer in Happy Madison Productions and now he finally has his own film. He plays Alex, a thirty-five year old video game tester who is forced to move in with his grandmother, played by Everybody Loves Raymond’s Doris Roberts, and her two roommates. At first living with three older women seems like a drag, until they accidentally get high and everyone has a ton of fun.

What minimal amount of conflict is in the film comes from Alex’s job. He is working hard on testing a new game which was created by a young prodigy. A new sexy boss played by Linda Cardellini is brought in to help. Cardellini was the star of Freaks and Geeks, one of the best shows cancelled on television, but she is hardly recognizable as a blond business woman. Alex is also trying to develop his own video game using his grandmother as a tester for it.

The DVD has both the theatrical version of the film and an unrated version with extra scenes of pot smoking and strange animal tricks. In truth, aside from drugs and language, it’s barely rated R. Any additional stuff added to the film isn’t the stuff that was deleted in order to keep it rated R, but simply to keep it shorter. It is a hopeless marketing ploy that will continue to increases DVD sales. The special features are surprisingly good though, with a number of deleted scenes and extended scenes scattered in a strange way across the special features, seemingly just to make it look like there is more stuff. There are also a few really funny featurettes. There is a featurette about the action figure masturbation scene and the monkey in the film. There is also a montage of all the smoking scenes in the film, just in case you didn’t get enough bong rips while watching the film.

The commentaries on this DVD are definitely more interesting than they normally are. The one with director Nicholaus Goossen is a bit more traditional, but the commentary with Allen Covert, Nick Swardson and Peter Dante is just as one would imagine after seeing the film they created. There is also a music video by The Twenty Twos and a making of featurette for the video. The last special feature is a quick look at the casting.

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Grandma's Boy (2006) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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