Things Get Absurd With Robert De Niro and Zac Efron in ‘Dirty Grandpa’

Alysia Gonzales

In this raunchy comedy, movie veteran Robert De Niro and “High School Musical” star, Zac Efron, team up in the buddy/family road trip comedy “Dirty Grandpa.”  Dick Kelly, a recently widowed former Army general, convinces his grandson Jason (Efron) to drive him to Florida for a Spring Break-esque trip right before Jason’s wedding. The perverted Army general and his grandson pick up girls, get drunk and bond with each other more than they ever thought they could.

De Niro has recently branched out to comedy. Starting his career in films like “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” and “The Godfather Part II,” De Niro starred in “Meet the Parents,” “The Intern,” and now, “Dirty Grandpa” where he often plays an older lovable character. While “Meet the Parents” did well at the box office and has become somewhat of a classic, “The Intern” didn’t do too well.

Efron rose quickly to fame after appearing in the “High School Musical” franchise, but his transition to more mature roles has been rocky. While “Neighbors” did relatively well in theaters, Efron’s latest film, “We Are Your Friends” was a huge flop hardly making $3 million domestically.

Director Dan Mazer has had incredible success in big comedies as a producer. He’s produced “Da Ali G Show,” “Borat” and “Brüno” but has had less success as a director. The last big film from Mazer was “I Give It A Year” in 2013, which barely made more than $34,000 at the box office.

“Dirty Grandpa” has no major contenders for its release date and is the only big-name comedy coming out in January’s penultimate weekend, priming it for success if Efron and De Niro can deliver.

“Dirty Grandpa” will premiere nationwide on Jan. 22.