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Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa .5 Unrated
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (15th July 2014). |
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The Film
 Johnny Knoxville and his obnoxious group of dicks have been a television staple for years with their series "Jackass" (2000-2002) and while that MTV show only lasted three seasons, they've been taking their antics to the big screen with three theatrical movies (2002-2010) where the gang took pranks, tricks, rude behaviour, vulgar antics and lots and lots of piss, shit and vomit to last a lifetime onto the silver screen, the last instalment was even in 3D, so... yay for that! They've developed a brand and despite some set backs recently (the death of Ryan Dunn in a tragic car accident) the boys are back, this time with an all new twist on their prank format, mixed with narrative. "Bad Grandpa" was the result, a film that is most likely a product of the Jackass groups' fame, they, in particular Johnny Knoxville are far too famous now to be pulling off random pranks. Their persona's are far to visible now in the public that they'd struggle to get away with any of the antics they've previously conceived and executed, so what's the solution? Make-up! Make-up that virtually transforms Knoxville into an unrecognizable character (which he's done previously in the TV show) and mix the usual pranks and public set-ups with a story of a grandfather who embarks on a trip from Nebraska to North Carolina to take his 8 year-old grandson, Billy, back to see his real father. The result, as the title suggests is a series of bad grandpa antics, some funny, some just plain stupid. Paramount's PR machine has provided a decent synopsis, Eighty-six-year-old Irving Zisman (Johnny Knoxville) is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companion: his eight-year-old grandson Billy (Jackson Nicoll), in "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa". Jackass characters Irving and Billy embark on an insane hidden camera road trip. Along the way Irving will introduce the young and impressionable Billy to people, places, and situations that give new meaning to the term "childrearing". The duo will encounter male strippers, disgruntled child beauty pageant contestants (and their equally disgruntled mothers), funeral home mourners, biker bar patrons, and a whole lot of unsuspecting citizens. Real people in unreal situations, making for one really messed up comedy. I've tried to watch "Bad Grandpa" on two separate occasions prior to receiving this Blu-ray and I didn't make it all the way through. In fact I never made it passed the halfway point, which made this viewing experience a tad tiresome, even though it is an alternate cut with some new scenes and extensions here and there. I think my main problem is that I'm entirely over the whole "Jackass" phenomenon (if you can call it that). The adolescent boy in me grew up and grew tired of the usual shtick, there's only so many dick and fart jokes a person can handle. That's not to say that "Bad Grandpa" is an entirely bad film, there are some truly laugh out loud moments and Johnny Knoxville hits it out of the park with this performance, he totally embodies the character that eventually you forget it's a much younger man under all that make-up. If anything that's the real selling point of this movie. Speaking of which, the make-up is phenomenal, its entirely transformative. They even received an Oscar nomination for Best Make-Up, whether you think it was deserved or not - the fact is that without the make-up this movie wouldn't exists, the character wouldn't exists and people would see through the character in an instant, so it had to look realistic and the crew nailed it. I'm glad that this film isn't just another series of hidden camera pranks, that format is not only dated but overused. Merging that format with a narrative about a grandfather taking his grandson on a road trip to see his real father allowed the filmmakers to turn a previously one dimensional character into one with some depth. The relationship between Irving and Billy another reason why the film (for the most part works). Their chemistry is realistic and their antics create added value comedy, this is a film to watch in a group, preferably drunk, or even have playing in the background at parties. I'm on the fence about this film, in many ways I'm over the "Jackass" series and if I never see another one of their productions it won't really matter to me, however there are die hard fans out there that eat up anything they release, if anything the healthy box office results for this film are a testament to that. What's mildly annoying is Paramount's decision to gouge the fans by re-releasing this film with an alternate cut and a bunch of new extras instead of giving fans the complete experience the first time around.
Video
Presented in 1.78:1 widescreen mastered in high definition 1080p 24/fps encoded with AVC MPEG-4 compression. The image looks solid, shot in a native digital format the image is crisp and clean. Detail looks good right down to the wrinkles and age spots on Knoxville's make-up. Colors appear natural, the film's lighting is fairly flat - considering the style it's a mixture of real-life hidden camera stuff with narrative/scripted material and to maintain some semblance of image continuity the photography looks naturalistic, thus resulting in flatter photography, somewhat akin to shooting a sitcom. Colors are vibrant and black levels look solid, although some scenes look a bit noisy.
Audio
A single audio track is included in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. The audio is serviceable, dialogue is clear and ambient and environmental surrounds are adequate, that's about it. There's nothing particularly outstanding about this audio, other than it does the job. Optional subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired, French, and Spanish.
Extras
Paramount has released this alternate cut with a slew of new supplements not featured on the previous release, fans get two new featurettes, a collection of 8 deleted scenes an outtakes reel plus a digital copy of the film. Below is a closer look at these extras. First up is a "Round Table Interview" (1080p) featurette which runs for 12 minutes 26 seconds, this discussion features writer/actor Johnny Knoxville, co-writer/producer Spike Jonze, and director Jeff Tremaine. The participants comment on the production and share some insight into the making of the film and challenges they faced among other things. "Casting Billy" (1080p) is the next featurette which runs for 3 minutes 16 seconds, this short clip takes a look at the casting of Jackson Nicoll and what he had to do in order to get the part. There are a series of 8 deleted scenes (1080p) which include: - "Irving and Billy Get on a Bus" which runs for 2 minutes 42 seconds. - "False Teeth" which runs for 39 seconds. - "Colostomy Bag/Pizza Delivery" which runs for 2 minutes 6 seconds. - "Bad Driver/Bookshelves" which runs for 15 seconds. - "Bad Driver/Newsstand" which runs for 53 seconds. - "Bad Driver/Trash Cans" which runs for 27 seconds. - "C.B. Radio" which runs for 2 minutes 25 seconds. - "Rolling Dice" which runs for 1 minute 52 seconds. A series of outtakes (1080p) are presented in a reel that runs for 13 minutes 56 seconds, featuring some occasionally funny ad-libs and goofs. Included in the case is a code to redeem an UltraViolet digital copy version of the film.
Packaging
Packaged in a Blu-ray keep case with first pressings housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
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