Adam Sandler has made a career out of acting like a buffoon, creating characters that talk in silly childlike voices. There have been moments of glory within these roles, such as his earlier successes with Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, but lately they have just been desperate and awful. Though That’s My Boy is not nearly as bad as Jack and Jill, it is also infinitely worse than the more adult roles that Sandler has done recently. Even Sandler’s voice acting in Hotel Transylvania is more mature than That’s My Boy. There has to be middle ground, and that would be in films like Grown Ups and Just Go With It. Nobody can question the range of comedy Sandler has done, but everyone in their right mind should question the quality of this particular film.
That’s My Boy begins with an extended introduction that shows us the unique situation that led to the upbringing of our actual protagonist, by first showing us the teenage years of his father. Donny (Sandler) fathers a son when he is still in high school after having an affair with one of his teachers. This makes him a dad, but more importantly to him, it also makes him something of a minor celebrity. Years later his son, Han Solo (Andy Samberg) is going by the name Todd and has told his fiancé and her family that his parents are dead.
The predictable scenario of the father arriving at the wedding unannounced becomes even more cliché when Todd lies and tells everyone that Donny is just a friend instead of his father. This lie is hidden among many other among the wedding party, which is strange enough without the addition of the often vulgar Donny. He has a beer in his hand at all times and has a propensity for inappropriate stories, but everybody seems to like him more than his uptight son trying to keep his family a secret.
That’s My Boy was hilarious! I thought I wasn’t going to have time to go pick it up since I started taking on more hours at work, but since I rented it from Blockbuster at Home through DISH it was waiting in the mailbox for me last night. I know that none of the humor was mature in the slightest bit, but with Adam Sandler when is it ever? From naming his son Han Solo all the way until the big finale at the wedding I was laughing the entire time. I was talking to this guy that works at DISH with me and he said he didn’t like it that much as well, so That’s My Boy may not be fore everyone, but if you like Adam Sandler then you’ll love it just like it did.
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