Respond to these rapid questions in our The War With Grandpa Quiz and we will tell you which The War With Grandpa character you are. Play it now.
What exactly were these individuals thinking?
During my two-hour viewing of “The War with Grandpa,” in which the overqualified Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, Cheech Marin, and Jane Seymour star, I found myself asking myself this question over and over again. No one has ever been in such desperate need of a paycheck. When it comes to role choices, this goes far beyond the traditional “one for me, one for them” approach.
And yet, here they are, co-starring with Oakes Fegley and Rob Riggle in a family-friendly film that would appear to be merely harmless and forgettable under normal conditions. However, in the midst of our current state of chaos and claustrophobia, its central conflict feels out of date and on the verge of becoming tone deaf. Assume that you have a large house in a leafy suburb with an attic and a basement, which provides enough space for a mother-and-father to live comfortably with their three children and their grandfather. Except for one thing: the surly tween boy does not want to give up his room to the clan’s sweetly aging patriarch, so he launches an all-out war against him in order to make him miserable and force him to leave? ‘Boo freaking hoo,’ I say.
Yes, I am aware that “The War with Grandpa” is based on a children’s book written by Robert Kimmel Smith that has been around for decades. Also important to note is that the film, directed by Tim Hill, was in production long before the pandemic turned the world upside down. To the contrary, “The War with Grandpa” is a frustrating reminder of what normal life used to be like (crowded classrooms, birthday parties), as well as an extended, whiny rant about extreme first-world problems. “The War with Grandpa” is not recommended for children under the age of 12. Also, you will find out which character are you in this The War With Grandpa quiz.
The War With Grandpa Quiz
Pete, played by Fegley, is the middle child in a happy family who is about to begin middle school with his close-knit group of friends. In the meantime, when it becomes apparent that Pete’s grandfather, Ed (De Niro), is having difficulty navigating the world on his own, his mother, Sally (Thurman), suggests that the widower come live with them rather than being institutionalized. Throughout the script, written by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, Ed’s debilitation is revealed through the kind of reductive characterization that we see far too often in movies: Because he can’t figure out the self-checkout at the grocery store, he accidentally knocks over the mailbox while backing out of the driveway, he doesn’t know how to read the news on an iPad, and he still has a flip phone, which makes it impossible to summon a Lyft car in an emergency situation. All of these are legitimate concerns that the film plays up for cheap laughs in an attempt to be entertaining. The obligatory Viagra joke is, at the very least, omitted. Even though “The War With Grandpa” is rated PG, it is not appropriate for children. Also, you must try to play this The War With Grandpa quiz.
Pete, on the other hand, will have to relocate from his beloved corner bedroom to the attic upstairs, which is spacious but may already be home to bats and mice as a result of Grandpa’s arrival. Almost immediately, his friends suggest that he use a variety of deceptions to make Ed’s life as difficult as possible, beginning with a formal declaration of war. While this high-concept premise could have been more successfully executed, Hill could have done better by gradually increasing the tension and humor throughout the film until the point at which the living arrangement becomes simply untenable and then letting the antics run wild from there. Instead, Pete’s primary attack occurs too soon, is unprovoked, and makes him appear to be a petulant brat rather than a regular kid who we can relate to and root for on a daily basis The character was annoying to my son, who is almost 11 and falls squarely within the target audience. He declared this to be one of the worst movies he’s ever seen, and he’s seen “Playing With Fire” and “UglyDolls.” )
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As the story progresses, “The War With Grandpa” becomes increasingly violent, with sub-Fockers-level sabotage and one-upmanship. There is a drone, a bottle of fake shaving cream, a broken record player, and even a jar of marbles in one of the increasingly damaging pranks (which is a long way to go for a punchline about how Grandpa has lost his marbles). A short while later, the back and forth becomes legitimately dangerous, with Pete intentionally activating Ed’s life alert button, causing emergency personnel to respond to a false alarm and placing a snake in Ed’s bed as a result. (We never get to see the ramifications of that decision.) “The War With Grandpa” has a meanness to it that is at odds with the film’s fundamentally positive message. This is despite the fact that many of the gags are painfully wacky and predictable, such as the trampoline dodgeball battle that plays out exactly as you would expect. The film as a whole isn’t strange enough to merit the darker places it visits, and as a result, it settles for a bland and mushy middle ground instead of standing out.
Meanwhile, Walken, Marin, and Seymour have little to do other than make the occasional wisecrack and offer their opinions on Ed’s next steps as his supportive group of friends, which they do with gusto. Thurman’s most distinguishing characteristic as Pete’s mother and the mother of his two sisters (Laura Marano and Poppy Gagnon) is that she is perpetually late. Riggle is repeatedly emasculated throughout the film, whether it’s through a recurring joke about how he needs his wife’s permission to use a chainsaw or through De Niro dropping his towel in front of Riggle in another deeply unfunny scene, both of which are extremely offensive. And Ed, whose presence serves as the catalyst for the action, appears to be far too nice of a person to become entangled in all of this mayhem and chaos. The fact that he allows this war to escalate in the manner in which it does is completely incomprehensible. The film “Dirty Grandpa” is not what you’re thinking of, but that other De Niro comedy appears to be a whole lot better in comparison.
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