Don't Mess with Grandma (2024)
First movie on the first of the year, and I brought the crew together for a funny one. Yeah, sure, we could have done horror or pure action or whatnot, but if I’m being real I brought in this year by being sick for all my day off so we might as well bring some levity in with the new year - because what’s more ironically funny than taking a day off from work to do work just to be sick and not be able to do anything? Perhaps a movie about a retired Vet defending his granny from a home invasion without her knowing? When the grandson is Michael Jai White, you know you Don’t Mess with Grandma.
Simple plot, played mostly for comedy - but with some heartfelt undertones. The description of the movie is literally spot on, as a grandson has to defend his grandma’s home from invaders without her catching on. Beyond that, there’s a subplot of the grandson wanting her to leave her old house and move somewhere closer and the subplot of the invaders and why they are there. It’s simple - bare bones perhaps, but it works fine. If anything, the weirdest part of it is the whole “without grandma finding out” part - it makes it charming but it seems like it could be the weakest part of the movie’s story. Still, it sets up a great foundation for the rest of the absurd things that are about to happen, and leaves plenty of surprising room for character interactions.
Actors do a great job here, and all feel like people. Yeah, there’s a level of comedy juiced up on it like a honey glaze, but a lot of the reactions are oddly understandable. Even on the crook side, met with this big old mountain of a man, make plenty of good arguments that usually get turned down by their more persistent comrades. This plays into the comedy as well, but also just in general with all the actions - like the fights that happen. Yes, it can be kind of Scooby Doo at times, but I didn’t really have complaints towards the acting here.
Characters are there. I want to be a little hesitant towards calling them good or bad, because there is some there but it’s hard to tell how much without looking at both sides. Like, a ton of the characters have motives, or some little level of background to them that didn’t need to be there. That being said, it also doesn’t necessarily effect their logic too much or make them different at the end of it, so maybe the mileage will vary there. It’s more than anticipated though - and honestly, by the end it even gets some pretty semi-serious heart to heart in there with makes sense but also by that point I hadn’t really expected it. Heck, even the dog gets in on having some character. Yes, it may be a murderous character, but he’s still a good boy.
Family cooking
Humor is and always will be subjective until we hit a dystopian future where feeling and laughter is illegal. In the meantime, there’s plenty of stuff here, although mostly slapstick. That slapstick is more universal and laughable - like butt injuries - although I do suppose some folks don’t like violence of any kind. The situational stuff - like bloodbath - might be more hit or miss, and some of the wordplay jokes provide variety but also might hit or miss. I got a couple of good laughs out of this one, so nothing to worry about there if you have a similar interest towards me - and also largely less crude than some comedies. Granted, Granny has a very specific interest in books, but outside of that it’s pretty clean up.
The violence and action is here. I mean, it’s a bit less technical and more loose, but it’s still good enough especially for what it’s aiming for. There is a few moments of less wrestling and more violent stuff (one guy gets pretty messed up by the dog), but outside of that one instance there really isn’t anything graphic in there. Effects are well enough done, honestly holding up to be a bit better than I would have anticipated. The entire thing can feel a bit… budget movie - and I feel that’s kind of unfair to say but at the same time it’s just the feeling I get from it. Of course, being a budget flick isn’t horrible from me - I enjoy plenty of movies with a shoe string budget, and it’s not like the visual quality of the movie is horrible or anything. Perhaps some of it might be the comedy side of it leading to it feeling a bit lower budget, perhaps it’s the single setting - who knows really. It doesn’t really feel like it negatively impacts it to me, but who am I to not point something like that out when I feel it?
Audio is balanced well. Plenty of easy to hear lines, with some pretty solid deliveries. It helps aid the humor, but also just give a bit of extra flavor to the various characters. Past that, the rest of the audio is well done, and there are even some moments of music that I recognize. Yes, it’s a MJW sung version of Holy Diver, but I still know it. There’s also some nice Trooper-esque riffs in there in some scenes. Although I’ve had plenty of decently good things to say about the movie, I think the biggest thing for the thinking part comes from granny herself - that overall family comfort, proximity, memories, and potential resistance to change. Sometimes it’s all about the right actions, sometimes it’s all about the thought that counts. Maybe there is more in there - but really, I’m either laughing or just enjoying myself too much for my casual level of thinking cap to pick anything up.
Bungling crooks.
What a good way to start a new year out. This thing had plenty of laughs, some fun enough action, and overall as a whole was just a good time. Perhaps it’s not the kind of movie with a story so epic it goes on to have six sequels - but then again, look at Home Alone, and that’s pretty much as goofy and similar an idea as this one was. I think the actors do a lot to help bring out the enjoyment factor of the movie, playing into their roles in whatever over-the-top manner the movie is calling for. It looks like Tubi was behind it, so I imagine you can find it over there - although at the time of writing this I caught it free with ads over on Amazon (and it’s been there for a while before I got around to finally watching it). Overall, a successful pick for the group I watched it with.