Robert De Niro thinks he is the grandfather Zac Efron needs right now.
By Josh Lasser
Last September, Robert De Niro starred in The Intern. There, he played a kind, loving, older male role model. Whatever one thought of the film itself, De Niro’s character was a good guy trying to embark on the next stage of his life. In Dirty Grandpa, De Niro is again playing someone moving on to the next stage in life, but you can probably cross out any other similarity with his Intern role.
Here, in this Dan Mazer-directed film, De Niro is Dick Kelly, and he is not a good guy. His son, David (Dermot Mulroney), is also not a good guy. Dick’s grandson, Jason (Zac Efron), isn’t necessarily bad so much as he’s uptight. And, finally, Dick’s soon to be granddaughter-in-law, Jason’s fiancée, Meredith (Julianne Hough), is not a good woman.
All of these characters are established as bad people, presumably, so when degrading and terrible things happen to them, we in the audience will laugh as opposed to becoming depressed. It is poor Meredith who gets the worst of this, and does so right from the beginning. She is the most horrible sort of bridezilla and, during the funeral for Jason’s grandmother, Dick’s wife, Meredith is more concerned with the tie color (coral or salmon) that Jason will wear to the rehearsal dinner than she is with showing any semblance of compassion for her betrothed. From there, for Meredith, it’s all downhill.
