Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: October 25, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
12
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Portland OregonianStephen WhittyOct 24, 2013
Sometimes it's a delicate comedy-drama with Oscar-worthy performances and touches of "A Streetcar Named Desire." And sometimes it's a foul-mouthed "Candid Camera" full of poop jokes and starring Johnny Knoxville in old-man makeup. Read full review
75
The PlaylistDrew TaylorOct 28, 2013
There’s a restless inventiveness to many of the gags that are matched only by the outrageousness of their surroundings. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonOct 25, 2013
In the few moments where he's left to prank people on his own, Bad Grandpa doesn't treat him like the clichéd potty mouthed kid out for shock value. Instead, he uses his childlike innocence to make the adults more uncomfortable than his grandpa's raunchier shenanigans ever could. Read full review
75
USA TodayScott BowlesOct 24, 2013
Rude, wrong and laugh-till-you-snort funny, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa not only stands as the best installment (by bounds) of Johnny Knoxville's hidden-camera franchise; it's one of the sharpest comedies of the year. Read full review
75
Boston GlobePeter KeoughOct 24, 2013
It’s the kind of outrageous comedy that you might even take your folks to, though probably not your kids. Say what you will about Harmony Korine and his demented geriatrics, at least they take their trash seriously. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriOct 25, 2013
For all the fecal matter flying around, and all the dick jokes, Bad Grandpa turns out to be an act of redemption: It’s the anti-Borat. And for all its flaws, it might just be the most heartwarming movie of the year. Read full review
70
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerOct 24, 2013
It’s hard to score big laughs with hidden-camera material these days because there has been so much of it since the “Jackass” TV show, but Mr. Knoxville and his young sidekick still land a few jaw-droppers. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyOct 24, 2013
It's amazing what a little story and a little substance add to a movie. It might not be a giant leap for mankind, but it is a small step for one old man. Read full review
70
The DissolveMatt SingerOct 24, 2013
Though the plot is predictable, individual scenes (and individual targets) are anything but. In the film’s best moments, it’s more than funny; it’s exciting, and almost as daring as its indomitable lead actor. Read full review
70
VarietyScott FoundasOct 23, 2013
Even at its low ebb, the movie effuses an infectious, mischief-making joy. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanOct 25, 2013
At the end, when the grandson, in drag, enters a little-girl beauty contest, the movie far outdoes the crowning moment of "Little Miss Sunshine." But most of Bad Grandpa lacks that delirious mad kick of surprise. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKyle RyanOct 23, 2013
No one will ever mistake the Jackass franchise for good cinema, but it never aspired to that. It was always about allowing the gleeful anarchy of the TV series to escape the constraints of television — to be more outrageous, gross, and profane than the FCC would ever allow. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 24, 2013
Is Knoxville going soft on us? Nah. Bad Grandpa is still the f***ed-up family movie of choice, especially if your family has done jail time. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerOct 24, 2013
Bad Grandpa obviously is not for everyone, but Johnny Knoxville and “Jackass” fans will eat it up. Read full review
60
The GuardianSteve RoseOct 24, 2013
Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat" set the bar very high for this type of narrative-driven prankery, and in comparison, Bad Grandpa comes across as disjointed and aimless. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeOct 23, 2013
Some of these gags are hilarious. Read full review
60
EmpireSimon CrookOct 21, 2013
True to the Jackass formula, some gags come off better than others, but there's some doozies in its midst. Read full review
50
SlateDan KoisOct 25, 2013
The movie itself is not unsatisfying, though it’s less fun than previous Jackass films, and has a worse title. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 24, 2013
In structure and concept, the film resembles the faux-documentary “Borat,” with the distinction that the cameras here are all hidden. And that is where the film falls down and can’t get up. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubOct 24, 2013
The uneven result is definitely not for prudish moviegoers, definitely funny for everyone else, and even approaches poignancy in one or two scenes. Read full review
50
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonOct 24, 2013
By Jackass standards, Bad Grandpa is benign—it’s neither as fun nor as thrilling as watching Knoxville play tetherball with a beehive. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenOct 23, 2013
An almost sweet sensibility emerges by the end of Bad Grandpa. Young Jackson Nicholl is a real find: The kid can really hold his own against Knoxville’s master pranker. Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreOct 23, 2013
As Jackass japes go, though, Bad Grandpa was better in concept and in its short, punchy TV commercials than it is as a feature. Read full review
40
Time OutSam AdamsOct 24, 2013
There are a handful of brilliant set pieces, including a scorched-earth attack on child beauty pageants. But this exercise in wink-nudge bad taste simply leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Read full review
40
Time Out LondonAshley ClarkOct 23, 2013
There are a couple of bawdy sight gags that hit the mark, although the outtakes in the end credits provide the film’s funniest moments. The cast and crew appear to have had a ball making it, at least. Read full review
40
Total FilmJames MottramOct 23, 2013
Most of the gags fall flatter than a Knoxville belly-flop. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Dave McGinnOct 25, 2013
Johnny Knoxville is now 42, and he’s clearly torn. He still wants to be a Jackass, but in a movie with an actual story that offers something even slightly more substantive than cringing at other people’s self-inflicted pain and humiliation. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle SmithOct 24, 2013
This whole movie is pretty much a mental colon blow. Read full review
12
Slant MagazineR. Kurt OsenlundOct 24, 2013
A choppy, feature-length progression of crude, predictable gags, the film plays like a variety show, and yet its main attraction is barely funny enough to warrant his own brief sketch. Read full review
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