REVIEW: That's My Boy

MOVIE
That's My Boy

CAST
Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg

RATING
R

RELEASE
June 15, 2012

DIRECTOR
Sean Anders

STUDIO(S)
Columbia Pictures,
Happy Masison Productions

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 56 minutes





STARS
***









REVIEW:

Adam Sandler is the white version of Tyler Perry. What that means is that his films are made generally for a specific audience, and if you're not in that audience demographic, then chances are you're bound to hate what's put Somehow people enjoyed films like 'Just Go With It' and 'Zookeeper' which made Mr. Sandler a whole lot of cash. Seven months after the atrocity of 'Jack & Jill' came out in theaters, Sandler has a new movie coming out that is really different from the films he's been making for the past six years. Instead of an insulting, far-fetched, and downright terrible film for the 12+ crowd, 'That's My Boy' is a vulgar, insane, and somehow really funny movie that happens to be rated R for all of the right reasons. This film isn't perfect by any means, but for some reason a lot of the jokes in this movie hit really hard, and sometimes they're hilarious. Other times the jokes can fall flat and just be looked at as incredibly stupid. This film somehow managed to be an outrageously fun comedy despite the trailers making the movie look like utter crap. People aren't lying when they say that this movie is Adam Sandler's return to form, because 'That's My Boy,' as dumb as it can be, really is.

As a young boy, Donny Berger was, not only the coolest one in his little circle of friends, but also a little prick with no respect for anyone. Donny also happens to have a crush on his teacher, Mrs. McGarricle. Things get a little crazy when Mrs. McGarricle has the hots for Donny as well, so they start having constant flings outside of the school's eyes. This only goes on for a little while before they're caught and Mrs. McGarricle, who Donny ended up knocking up, is sentenced to 30 years in prison for the inappropriate acts. Donny gets really famous off of this whole teacher/student relationship, leading to TV movie rights, posing on numerous magazines, and basically being the talk of the town while basking in the $100,000 check given to him because of the scandal. Coming to present day, Donny has now spent all of his money and owes $43,000 to the IRS, who will arrest him if he doesn't get them the money within a few days. Things seem to be going straight down to hell for Donny until he sees that his son, who hasn't spoken to him in many years, happens to be very rich. It's now up to Donny to save his ass from jail and become something that he never truly was: a loving father.

Adam Sandler is notorious for making up ridiculous voices for some of his characters. Examples of voices can include his middle-eastern accent in 'You Don't Mess With The Zohan' and his whiny girl like voice in 'Jack & Jill.' In this film, Sandler has a whiny/drunken noise that he calls a voice that from the trailers seemed like it would be an annoying distraction to the comedy. After a few minutes with Sandler's character, the audience just gives in to the voice and somehow goes along with it, which is all the more surprising. This character grows on the audience as the film progresses despite all of the masturbation, sex, and alcohol jokes that spew out of his filthy mouth. This is probably Sandler's best comedic role in a very long time, despite that not saying a lot.

It's very weird to see Andy Samberg play the straight man rather than the all-out crazy guy like in many of his SNL skits. In films like 'Hot Rod' and 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,' Samberg portrays that crazy character who loves to have fun and get wacky all of the time. In here, he's just the guy who doesn't want to be a part of his father's insane life, but eventually gives in to it. It would have been nice to see him be a looser character than he was in this movie, but Samberg nevertheless was a nice presence. The rest of the cast, including Leighton Meester and Will Forte, were all good for what they were given. However the most enjoyable character in the entire movie, shockingly, is Vanilla Ice, who plays himself.

I doubt anyone ever expected their favorite part of any movie to be Vanilla Ice, but somehow he works perfectly here. Belly laughs are generated in just about every scene that he's in, whether he's just standing around or partying with Sandler and Samberg. If more movies are able to bring forgotten 80s and 90s stars out from the shadows to make fun of themselves, then some comedies that would be utter crap might be more enjoyable to watch. The entire cast is good for what they're given, but it is Sandler and Ice that steal the show.

Is this movie a fantastic comedy by any means? Absolutely not! Is 'That's My Boy' Adam Sandler's long awaited comeback? Not exactly. While the movie is very funny throughout, Sandler needs to make two or three more good movies in order for a "comeback" to be confirmed. This is one of those movies where the R rating is well deserved and highly necessary throughout. There is absolutely no way that this movie would have been as enjoyable as it would have been if it was rated PG-13. This isn't supposed to be for the 12 year old fans of Sandler at all, but if they sneak in to this or see it with their parents they will probably have a fun time. Despite some mediocre writing and a couple of other flaws, 'That's My Boy' is still a very fun time at the movies, or just a fun night at the movies with some buddies. Check it out if it's still playing anywhere near you.





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