Title: That’s My Boy
Director: Sean Anders
Script: David Caspe
Starring: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Leighton Meester
Released: 21st January 2013
Runtime: 114 minutes
I’ve been a huge fan of Adam Sandler ever since his pitch-perfect performance as Robbie Hart opposite Drew Barrymore in The Wedding Singer and their follow up collaboration on First 50 Dates.
But Sandler is a confounding actor. He has a string of hits, likeable, fun films, such as Mr Deeds, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan and Little Nicky. I liked them all. They were entertaining. Sandler was fun to watch and no doubt fun to be around. But then there are other films that he’s chosen such as Spanglish, Grown Ups and Jack & Jill that are beyond terrible. Most worryingly these films have come more recently.
Then just when you thought you had Sandler figured out he throws in two genuinely Oscar-worthy performances in Reign Over Me and Punch-Drunk Love. Two amazing films where Sandler really acts. All the antics and anger management issues are reigned in and he really blows you away.
So then along comes That’s My Boy, with Grown Ups II on the horizon as if we needed more of that garbage. That’s My Boy has moments of humour and sparks of brilliance but mostly Sandler’s character is unlikable and unsympathetic.
Donny is 13. He jokes to his teacher that he wants to have sex with her. She agrees. She’s not joking. At this point audience members will wonder if this is a dream that Donny is having. Of course… strangely… it’s not and Donny ends up fathering a son whilst his teacher goes to jail.
Donny raises the boy as well as he can, which is needless to say, very badly. The son, Todd, leaves home at 18 and the father and son do not see each other for many years. As luck would have it, just as Todd starts to get his life together, and is getting married, his father re-enters his life.
Sadly, That’s My Boy is littered with fart jokes, fat jokes, incest jokes and indeed any other type of offensive joke. No one is immune to these jokes, old or young, thin or fat. At least it’s pretty much across the board. No one type of person being singled out. Some might raise a laugh, others won’t. I won’t lie, I dig get a few laughs out of this film. I do like dark humour. But the rest of the script is so poorly written it’s a tough watch, and it’s not a short film either. It’s also filled with unnecessary profanity. It feels as though Sandler might have written a lot of the material himself, as it seems to fit his ‘character’, but he doesn’t have a writing credit so all criticism for this will have to be heaped upon David Caspe.
The direction is fairly solid, it has to be said – so that’s a plus point. Also it looks and sounds great on blu-ray. Extras are minimal. Probably for the best. With Sandler it will always be a mixed bag. Some you’ll love, some you’ll hate. I’ll let you decide for yourself which category this falls into.
