Connect with us

Comedy

The War with Grandpa | A Kind Of Mixture Of ‘Home Alone’ And ‘Dennis the Menace’

Published

on

Sometimes you have to make
sacrifices in a family.

 

What a top actor, Robert De Niro. Most of the films in which he played the lead, became film classics. Memorable roles that will still impress in decades to come. From “Taxi Driver” to “Goodfellas”. From “The Deer Hunter” to “Casino“. Unforgettable masterpieces. The only thing De Niro should have avoided in all these years is comedies. Besides “Last Vegas” there isn’t a single comedy (at least of those I’ve seen) with De Niro that I thought was worth watching. Lame humor and an irritating storyline are usually the biggest annoyances about such films. “Meet the Fockers”, “Analyze That”, “The Big Wedding”, “The Family” and “The Intern”, just to name a few. Every time I felt vicariously ashamed. This is also the case with “The war with GrandPa”.

 

 

The Family.

Let’s introduce grandfather Ed (Robert De Niro), who’s hopelessly left behind after the death of his beloved wife. Next, there’s the concerned daughter Sally (Uma Thurman) who wants her father to move in with her family, regardless of what the family members have to say about that. Husband Arthur (Rob Riggle) is again such a good-natured guy (and obviously Ed has nothing good to say about him) who looks at the whole thing with resignation and grudgingly agrees with the whole situation. Then there’s son Peter (Oakes Fegley) who’s screwed and reluctantly has to give up his beloved room. And this because grandfather’s legs refuse to work properly and so grandpa takes up residence there. Peter has to move to the dusty attic with a roof that’s not watertight and where unwanted pets run across the wooden truss. The eldest daughter Mia (Laura Marano) has the least problems since she’s living in her own teenage world. And finally, there’s the adorable daughter Jennifer (Poppy Gagnon). The only one who’s extremely enthusiastic about the new housemate.

 

 

Declaration of War.

You can already guess what’s going to happen after reading the title of the film. Yes, grandson Peter declares war on Grandpa Ed. The stake is the bedroom he had to hand over. At first, Ed finds it all highly amusing. The written declaration of war slipped under his door is treated with derision. And Grandpa Ed is willfully playing the game. It seems so innocent to him. I don’t think it’s going to be a surprise when it turns out that things start to get out of hand.

 

 

Average Family Film.

I thought it was quite astonishing that famous actors cooperated in this average family film. Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, and Jane Seymour. Admit it, they are not the least. I suppose these actors would also like to experience a pleasant film set with a less demanding, relaxing role instead of a physically hard, intense one. Just like me wanting to have a peaceful moment in the midst of all the horror violence stuff I watch most of the time. The main subject being the clash between youth and the elderly in this movie seemed rather obvious. Unfortunately, there are other storylines that were added and not further explored. Like the love-hate relationship between the mother and her future son-in-law. Or the work situation of father Arthur. The only sidetrack that is gratefully used is the bullying of Peter at school. That was rather funny.

 

 

A slightly corny comedy.

The rest of the film is a series of silly jokes those two arch-rivals are playing on each other. The pace at which these pranks follow each other is blisteringly fast. And they are of the level as the April Fools’ Day jokes. Replacing shaving cream with quick-drying foam or replacing cookie filling with toothpaste. Well, the movie has its charms. It’s a slightly corny comedy. A kind of mixture of “Home Alone” and “Dennis the Menace”. Obviously the film aims at a younger audience because my 8-year-old son next to me laughed a lot while watching. I’m afraid I’m not part of the target audience. I guess I belong to De Niro’s age-group. But nobody will ever ask me to play such a part.

 

 

My rating 4/10
Links: IMDB

FILM RATING
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Comedy

Netflix’s Crashing Eid Review: Love, Culture, and Differences

Published

on

Crashing Eid

If you are curious about other cultures, or maybe want to see how your culture is represented in mainstream media, then you should binge-watch Netflix’s Arabic Comedy series Crashing Eid this weekend. It’s a 4-episode long series with each episode of roughly 47 minutes. The series revolves around culture, love, differences, family, and drama.

The story focuses on Razan (Summer Shesha) as she finds love for the second time in her life but struggles to convince her family for marriage. Razan is shown to be living in the UK with her daughter Lamar (Bateel Qamlo) and finds her British-Pakastani boyfriend Sameer (Hamza Haq) as a suitable match for herself. She proposes to him for marriage before traveling to Saudi Arabia, her home, to celebrate Eid. Her family is convinced that she is back in Saudi for good but Razan has other plans. She tries to tell them about Sameer but constantly fails due to fear and lack of ‘perfect’ timing. She tells Sameer that her parents have agreed to their marriage as she panics to tell him the truth.

Summer Shesha and Bateel Qamlo in Crashing Eid

Summer Shesha as Razan, Bateel Qamlo as Lamar in Crashing Eid

Here comes the twist – Sameer reaches Saudi to surprise Razan and to meet her parents! She tries her best to handle the situation and hide their relationship with the help of her daughter Lamar. At the end of the episode, the truth uncovers itself and everyone is left disappointed. The story follows Razan’s family drama, bitter relations with her mother, previous abusive marriage, her brother Hasan’s (Yasir Alsaggaf) struggle to connect with his son after losing custody, etc. Her previous marriage with her cousin affected her relationship with her own mother as she blames Razan for the failed marriage.

Summer Shesha’s portrayal of a strong woman struggling with every close person in her life but still managing to face everything with bravery is appreciable. Khalid Alharbi deserves applause for his sweet, loving, and understanding role as Razan’s father.

Yasir Alsaggaf, Summer Shesha and Amani Idrees in Crashing Eid

Yasir Alsaggaf, Summer Shesha, and Amani Idrees in Crashing Eid

Despite a fun twist challenge, representation, and Khalid Alharbi’s brilliant performance, a few parts lack perspective. The story doesn’t completely revolve around Razan yet it fails to involve Lamar’s (Bateel Qamlo) emotions in the family drama. She is seen upset at times but it’s never completely addressed. She plays the role of a typical elder daughter helping out her mother in everything and neglecting herself at times. The ending felt rushed as it doesn’t properly elaborate on how Razan’s mother (Amani Idrees) suddenly changed her mind about her daughter. Emotions take time and that’s what felt rushed.

Summer Shesha, Hamza Haq and Khalid Alharbi in Crashing Eid

Summer Shesha, Hamza Haq, and Khalid Alharbi in Crashing Eid

Crashing Eid  offers strong cultural representation, women empowerment, and how love can help you deal with almost everything. It focuses strongly on social taboos surrounding women and Muslim culture.

Crashing Eid is now available to stream on Netflix.

FILM RATING
Continue Reading

Animation

The Garfield Movie | Official Trailer — Starring: Chris Pratt

Animated feature film based on the popular comic strip about a sarcastic, lasagna-loving cat.

Published

on

Genre:

Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Release Date:

May 24, 2024

Director:

Mark Dindal

Cast:

Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, Chris Pratt

Plot Summary:

Animated feature film based on the popular comic strip about a sarcastic, lasagna-loving cat.

FILM RATING
Continue Reading

Comedy

Anyone But You | Official Teaser — Sony Pictures

After an amazing first date, Bea and Ben’s fiery attraction turns ice cold–until they find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.

Published

on

By

Anything But You [credit: Sony Pictures]

Genre:

Comedy

Release Date:

December 15, 2023

Director:

Will Gluck

Cast:

Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp

Plot Summary:

After an amazing first date, Bea and Ben’s fiery attraction turns ice cold–until they find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.

FILM RATING
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Popular Now

Advertisement
Advertisement

TRENDING NOW

Trending

CoastalHouseMedia.com is a property of Coastal House LLC. © 2012 All Rights Reserved. Images used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies/owners.

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x