That’s My Boy

Donny Berger was just the average 13-year-old lusting after his hot math teacher, Ms. McGarricle, never knowing that secretly she had been lusting after him as well, until one day in detention when she taught him a different kind of lesson—a naughty one. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison for that lesson, and the baby she was carrying was sentenced to be raised by Donny. If you’re wondering what kind of judge would make that call, you’re thinking way too much to enjoy this movie.

After the scandal, Donny became a national hero, making it into teen magazines alongside the two Coreys and earning tons of money giving interviews. There was even a made-for-TV movie based on his life. Fast forward 28 years, and now Donny (played by Adam Sandler) is a deadbeat who hangs out at the local strip joint, his fame and money squandered. He owes $43k in back taxes, and if he doesn’t pay, he’ll go to jail. He hasn’t seen his son, Todd (played by Adam Sandberg), in years, but he’s just learned that Todd is getting married and that he’s wealthy. This may be Donny’s only chance to stay out of jail and maybe even reconnect with his son.

But not if Todd can help it. See, Donny wasn’t really a good father (duhhh), and Todd kind of hates him. Donny let him do whatever he wanted, which was great for Todd at the time, but had some negative repercussions like obesity, diabetes, and bad tattoos. When Todd was old enough, he left home, changed his entire lifestyle and put his past behind him. Because he experienced the dangers of excess, he now goes to excess to avoid excesses. But now Donny is back for the biggest moment in Todd’s life, and it doesn’t matter that everyone at the wedding seems to appreciate Donny’s hell-may-care attitude; Todd just wants him to leave.

This movie most reminded me of Sandler’s earlier film Big Daddy. There he played a slacker guy (named Sonny) who adopts a kid to show his girlfriend that he can be responsible. When that doesn’t work, he continues to raise the kid because he actually loves him. His first parenting technique was to let the kid do whatever he wanted, but shortly he realizes that that is stunting the child’s development, and so he begins creating a more structured life for him. That’s My Boy supposes what would happen if he never learned that lesson. Both movies teach that kids need order in their lives, but That’s My Boy also claims that too much order (even if self-imposed) is no good either. It’s not until Donny returns into Todd’s life and reintroduces some spontaneity and debauchery that Todd begins to loosen up and finally relax a little.

But you knew that already. The commercials and trailers give it away that Donny causes Todd to change in ways his fiancée isn’t pleased with. You also already know how this movie is going to end. The trailers don’t give that away, but this being an Adam Sandler movie does. They’re almost formulaic by now: they usually start off with a flawed character who somehow makes things worse for himself and the ones he loves before realizing his mistakes and then doing something heart-warming to fix those mistakes. I think has worked so well for Sandler because we can usually identify with his characters’ desires to repair his relationships. He always manages to hit upon the humanity of his characters, and no matter how absurd they are they’re always nice guys deep inside.

Donny isn’t Sandler’s most absurd character, but he’s out there. He keeps a beer on his person at all times. His wardrobe and catchphrases (“Wassssup?”) are from the 90’s. He’s unknowingly crass, which other characters either ignore or find endearing. (Sandler characters seem to always be bewilderingly charming, don’t they?) If you’re amused by piss, vomit, semen, erections, strippers and pedophilia, you’ll probably laugh a lot in this movie. Most of the jokes are immature, which doesn’t stop them from being funny, but for sure not everyone will appreciate the humor. I got a kick out of it for sure, especially Donny’s surprise celebrity sidekick, who delivered a surprising amount of laughs.

Yet I do feel like there were some missed opportunities in it, namely getting to see a young Donny raise a not-much-younger son. Todd and Donny talk about all the mistakes Donny made when they were younger, but talking about it in the past tense doesn’t seem as funny as actually seeing it. I wish we had at least gotten a montage of them growing up. The visuals alone would be funny (picture an 18 year old wearing a “Father of the Year” t-shirt while his obese 5 year old son cries at his foot.) I just think there was a lot of potential there for humor, even it meant Sandler himself would have been in the movie less since he can’t pass for 18.

And now to end this review, some comments regarding this movie’s treatment of pedophilia: I think it’s obvious from trailers that this movie doesn’t really explore the rightness or wrongness of female on male pedophilia. I don’t believe the movie ever even mentions words like pedophilia, or statutory rape, or molestation. It doesn’t villianize Ms. McGarricle for actions except for sending her to jail for them. Donny is never portrayed as a victim, and the movie doesn’t even come close to touching the double standard of how this would be more disturbing if it was a male teacher with a female student. The movie simple tries to lay out the events in as funny way as it can. It wants to you to be grossed out by a lot of things, but not the molestation. The real story here is about Donny and his son, and it’s pretty funny. And with that, I send you on your way. Happy movie watching.

 

That’s My Boy
Director: Sean Anders (Sex Drive)
Writers: David Caspe (Happy Endings [TV Show])

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