Movie Review Grade: B-
That’s My Boy, the new Adam Sandler comedy was released on June 15th 2012. The big names of this comedy are of the ranks of Adam Sandler (as Donny Berger) the drunken father, Andy Samberg as (Todd Peterson/Hon Solo) the successful son, and Leighton Meester as (Jamie) the son’s hot-headed fiancée.
The movie starts off with an adolescent Donny Berger and his friends in middle school acting their age as they’re just hitting puberty. When his 22-year-old teacher seductively walks down the hall and starts drinking from the water fountain, he notices that he’s no longer into girls but into women. Donny asks his teacher out and starts the fuse that ends him in detention and eventually ending him up as a father. As a result of his teacher showing no remorse in court, she is sentenced to 30 years in prison and Donny obtained custody of the child. The school boy scandal led to Donny becoming a celebrity from that day in 1984 but as of 2012 has long partied that money away.
As a man, Donny is a wreck who has lost contact with his son, does little more than hang at the strip club with his friends and apparently has a hobby of not paying the IRS. Over the years he’s accumulated a debt of $43,000 to the IRS and without any money to pay, he hatches a plan to ask for the help of his wealthy son who has since changed his name and created a fictional backstory for his own life. A bit of the movie takes place at Todd’s boss’s house — where Jamie and Todd are staying. Donny shows up out of the blue and the hijinks go on from there. Having his wedding and promotion on the line, Todd is less than enthusiastic about seeing Donny. It’s hilarious to hear about the type of father that Donny was and his son’s actions reflect his attitude toward Donny’s parenting when changing his name from Hon Solo to Todd Peterson and claiming that both his parents were killed in an explosion. Back and forth they have a battle based on maturity as Donny tries to make up for the terrible father he’s been, but some other characters don’t make it easy as Donny soon has to make a choice between having his son back or keeping himself out of jail.
I would say that the movie overall pushes to be on the more raunchy side of comedy and a few scenes are not for the faint of heart. While it’s not particularly graphic, the subject matter is still a little shocking. There are a few twists and turns and I didn’t feel as if it was some movie that I’ve already watched many times. If you want to see a funny movie then don’t pass over this one but if immature jokes, drunken dry humping, and horny elderly people aren’t your thing then you may be missing out.
Movie Review Grade: B-
