There is something about cosying up on a rainy day, flicking through Netflix and finding the worst possible movie to watch. A hate-watch is a curious thing, but a bemusement-watch is something to be celebrated. Catching a movie that you know to be terrible just to see how terrible it truly is, is the kind of meta enjoyment reserved for the 21st century.
No actor or director is completely clean when it comes to their filmography and even Rpbert De Niro has sullied himself with a poor movie or two. While most people will point to his role in Rocky and Bullwinkle as perhaps his worst, there is another on Netflix that deserves your attention: Dirty Grandpa.
Admired as one of the finest acting talents in cinematic history, Robert De Niro’s extraordinary gift for embodying film’s most intense characters, from Raging Bull’s Jake LaMotta to The Godfather: Part II’s Don Veto Corleone, is truly unparalleled. Working closely with mastermind director Martin Scorsese, De Niro’s performances in The Irishman, Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy are each iconic in the history of cinema.
However, as good as those movies are, they are perhaps dwarfed by the heavy level of shod that is his movie Dirty Grandpa. If you want to watch it on Netflix, you have to be quick, as it will be leaving the streaming platform at the end of the month.
The premise of Dirty Grandpa is as structurally simple as the title suggests, revolving solely around the lude remarks of a dirty old man, regrettably played by Robert De Niro. Critically panned upon its release in 2016, Dirty Grandpa is raunchy in all the wrong places, casting a strange shadow over De Niro’s 21st-century legacy.
Starring as the dirty Grandpa in question, Robert De Niro commences on a road trip with his grandson, Jason Kelly (Zac Efron) shortly before he is due to get married, showing him life’s frivolities in Florida. Packed full of sexual dick jokes and childish pranks, Dirty Grandpa is a rather embarrassing outing for the veteran actor of The Godfather: Part II, Taxi Driver, and Raging Bull.
In one scene, neither the audience nor Efron’s Jason can unsee, we witness Robert De Niro’s character graphically masturbating. Why? Because he’s a dirty Grandpa. That truly is about as deep as it goes and, for an actor as esteemed as De Niro, that feels more than a little cheap.
However, there is something about watching a terrible movie that can bring you a little joy. When its such a celebrated performer, you can double that pleasure.
Dirty Grandpa leaves Netflix on June 25th.
