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Sean Anders
June 15, 2012
Due to an inappropriate student-teacher relationship, Donny (Adam Sandler) fathered a boy while still a teenager and reared him alone. Todd (Andy Samberg), Donny’s son, was let out on his 18th birthday. The old man unexpectedly shows up on the eve of his son’s wedding after years of estrangement, throwing the young man’s life into disarray. Unfortunately now he has to deal with the fallout from his previous poor parenting choices.
Much of the movie, as is typical for Adam Sandler movies, is spent seeing the expected cameos from his regular friends like Allen Covert, Nick Swardson, and a slew of others, as well as the inevitable garden variety cameos. Tony Orlando, a popular musician from the 1970s, plays Donny’s employer in the movie in a very substantial part, which is another enjoyable casting choice made by Sandler. One of Donny’s oldest buddies, Vanilla Ice, is also present—I’m not kidding. Surprisingly, he’s actually extremely entertaining and is obviously having a good time.
Edgy, dark humor is acceptable as long as it appears to be presented with intention. That’s My Boy, however, seems to exist primarily to provide cheap laughs at the expense of pretty much everyone in the movie. That’s not to say it isn’t funny at times. Sandler’s ability to not hold back in R-Rated films is a big plus when it comes to a film that never gives the jokes a break.
Consider cutting back on the voices, though. Thanks to your choice to play Donny with a Boston trailer park accent—which was made even worse by the fact that no one else in the movie did the same thing—the few scenes in That’s My Boy that were intended to be honest and friendly were unconvincing and bland.
Nice tattoo, though. I’ll grant you that.
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