That's My Boy

You know, I can handle a physical, pratfall comedy as well as the next guy, but when I see one Adam Sandler film after another and not really laugh as much as I'd hoped, it being a comedy, it makes me wonder why I even bother. I like comedy and with that, I hope that there will be a film that I will truly find funny from beginning to end. This is definitely not the case with "That's My Boy".

While in his teens, Donny (Adam Sandler) fathers a son, Todd (Andy Samberg) by his then teacher, Mary McGarricle (Eva Amurri Martino), and then raised him as a single parent because Mary went to prison for having sex with a minor. At Todd's 18th birthday, he left his dad for better or worse. Well, now, after not seeing one another for many years, Todd's world comes crashing down on the eve of his wedding to Jamie (Leighton Meester), when an uninvited Donny suddenly shows up. Trying desperately to reconnect with his son, Donny is now forced to deal with the repercussions of his bad parenting skills.

Others to round out the cast are Vanilla Ice as himself, James Caan as Father McNally, Milo Ventimiglia as Chad, Jamie's uptight, marine brother, Blake Clark as Gerald, Meagen Fay as Helen, Tony Orlando as Steve Spirou, Todd's boss, Will Forte as Phil, Rachel Dratch as Phil's wife, Nick Swardson as Kenny, Peggy Stewart as Grandma Delores, Susan Sarandon as Mary McGarricle (present day), Justin Weaver as young Donny, Luenell as Champale, and Ciara as Brie.

This was adequately directed by Sean Anders ("Never Been Thawed" '05, "Sex Drive" '08).
The best thing I can say about the writing is that Sandler's name wasn't attached to it, unlike a lot of his films, however I'm sure it had his influence since this was produced by Happy Madison Productions, Sandler's company. It was written by David Caspe, and even though it was a bit over-the-top, it wasn't as much as if Sandler's name was attached to the writing credit. A good deal of Sandler films have funny premises, which is great fodder for a great script, but they really need a seasoned, funny screenwriter to pull it off. This is Caspe's first theatrical writing, and, with more experience under his belt, might be an effective writer, but this needed someone that's been around the block a few times.

If you're a Sandler fan, you'll love this, otherwise you might feel a little cheated. As the selling slogan of the film says: Everyone has a teenage crush... Donny went a little too far", and this is the very problem with "That's My Boy", it went a little too far.

Out of 4 stars: 2                      Rated: R                       116min.