Movie Review: The War with Grandpa

It is a sad state of affairs indeed, when a boy and his grandfather must do battle due to their shared claim over a little thing like a bedroom. But, that is exactly the premise of the new comedy The War with Grandpa, that stars Robert De Niro and Oakes Fegley respectively as the grandfather and grandson.

But, make no mistake, there is very little that is actually funny in this film. It starts off simply enough, with Grandpa Jack (De Niro) needing to move in with his daughter and her family after a mishap at home. This displaces young Peter (Fegley) who is forced to give up his beloved bedroom and take up residence in the attic. Of course, Peter is not too pleased with this turn of events and begins scheming on how he can get his Grandfather to relocate allowing Peter to reclaim his bedroom.

Of course, this is easier said than done and also much more enjoyable to imagine than actually see played out. There are moments when the film shows some warmth and charm, such as when the pair go fishing, but that quickly devolves into a cat-and-mouse chase involving a harried park ranger. This is a film that wants to be both a heartfelt story about a boy and his grandfather and a raucous comedy along the lines of Home Alone (1990). Unfortunately, it fails to sustain either level for very long and neither the character of the grandfather or grandson is very likeable or endearing for any extended period of time, which makes for a rather grueling experience overall.

Robert De Niro and Oakes Fegley in “The War with Grandpa.”

While both De Niro and Fegley have moments that suggest there could have been more here than initially meets the eye, those brief glimpses are few and far between and the film remains nothing more than one hurtful prank after another. There is ultimately nothing funny about a boy abusing his grandfather, nor is there anything enjoyable the other way around. The unbelievably gifted supporting cast, which includes the likes of Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Laura Marano, Cheech Marin, Jane Seymour, and even Christopher Walken are completely wasted and make one wonder what could have been if the film had been written with a little more heart behind it rather than the heavy slant towards slapstick.

Apart from a few moments where the titular battle is forgotten and the main participants remember that they actually love each other, there is ultimately very little to like about The War with Grandpa. The film is itself inevitably a war lost to good taste.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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