Directed by: Tim Hill
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Oakes Fegley, Rob Riggle, Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, Cheech Marin, Jane Seymour
Originally slated for 2018 release, The War with Grandpa now hits theaters in a blockbuster-starved period of movie releases. Since potential blockbusters have postponed their release dates, movie studios are emptying the vaults to present at least something to the movie-going public. It's a double-edged sword. I enjoy the movie theater experience, so it is a positive the theater has a movie to show, but these days it's slim pickings,
The War with Grandpa would be a movie you watch on Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel if it didn't star big names like Robert DeNiro, Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, etc. This leads me to wonder what about the project attracted these stars. The War with Grandpa is presented as an innocuous family picture, but like Home Alone, it gives us an escalating series of dangerous pranks which could really hurt somebody. We can only hope the family has the money to pay for the damage, or decent health insurance. But did it really need to star Robert DeNiro? He has been in some bombs, to be sure, but he is the same iconic actor who starred in Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Godfather Part II, and Silver Linings Playbook. Now, he's starring in a movie where he is battling his grandson in a war of wills and slapstick gags.
What is the war about, you ask? Well, Ed (DeNiro) is having a tough time adjusting to living alone following the death of his wife. He drives despite not having a license, his house is in disarray, he can't operate the self-checkout at the supermarket, leading to a case of mistaken shoplifting, etc. Ed's daughter Sally (Thurman) suggests he move in with her family and take his grandson Peter's bedroom. Peter now has to take up residence in the attic, which is full of junk, birds, and mice, and the kid is none too happy. He writes a declaration of war (after reading the Declaration of Independence) and slips it under his grandfather's door. Ed doesn't take it seriously at first, but once the brat disguises a can of fast-drying putty as shaving cream, it's on. A helicopter drone is brought into the mix, and while Ed can't figure out the self-checkout, he assembles and operates the drone with no difficulty.
This is supposed to be lightweight stuff, but some of these games of one-upmanship get nasty, and it's cringe-inducing to see an elderly man slip on marbles and later fall off the side of a house. The matter is expected to be settled in a game of dodge ball at the local Bounce U., but this scene just wants to make you watch the movie Dodge Ball instead. Because The War with Grandpa is lazy slapstick, the characters simply shake off their slips, trips, falls, and crashes and keep on moving. This may not appeal to me, but it will more likely appeal to younger kids.
Other big names like Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, Rob Riggle, Jane Seymour, and Cheech Marin have supporting roles, and most aren't given anything substantial to do. Thurman has run-ins with the same police officer, Riggle is unhappy about not being able to use a chainsaw, and Walken has a man cave stocked with video games. I started to connect the dots as I recalled DeNiro co-starred with Thurman in Mad Dog and Glory (1993), and Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter. Walken co-starred with Seymour in Wedding Crashers. You know the movie isn't filling the entertainment bill if you start to concentrate on the actors' filmographies rather than what's on the screen.
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