If you thought Robert De Niro rediscovered his mojo and indulged in some debauchery far, far beyond his age range in the reveal trailer for Dirty Grandpa, then buckle up for today’s red band tease.
Lionsgate debuted the raunchy clip earlier today, outlining the film’s shoe-string story. Essentially, Zac Efron’s buttoned-up lawyer-to-be begrudgingly agrees to drive his recently-widowed grandfather cross country. And so, postponing his wedding plans with his love-to-be, Jason Kelly (Efron) indulges in Dick’s (De Niro) new lease on life. With that, Jason takes his old, old man to Spring Break which, and as today’s trailer teases, leads to all manner of age inappropriate shenanigans.
In what could be seen as another potential miss in De Niro’s career, Dirty Grandpa struggles to win us over with its hollow, predictable set-up. Yes, Zac Efron takes off his shirt at one point, while De Niro makes a crude joke that’s viewed as shocking given his the recent passing of his wife. The film seems to retain a similar coming-out-of-age dynamic as Last Vegas, only with half the charm.
Even still, we’re hoping that David O. Russell’s soon-to-be-released drama Joy does enough to prove that, yes, De Niro is still capable of acting greatness – similarly to how American Hustle cushioned the blow of The Family two years ago.
Julianne Hough, Aubrey Plaza, Dermot Mulroney, Zoey Deutch, Jason Mantzoukas, Adam Pally and Henry Zebrowski round out the cast for the comedy. Dan Mazer’s Dirty Grandpa opens on January 22, 2016.
