Undercover Grandpa (2017) User Reviews

nothing earth shaking, but mindless fun.

[mstyles-624-399356 · 5/10 · 8 December 2017]

The movie had some charm, and a bumbling comedic uplift.. Some great actors. Technically Looked sharp, fault with the clichéd way overdone plot.. May have worked better if the grandpas' were 10 years younger..Kinda sad, to see these great actors, have aged so much..

Still it was a 'feel good' piece of fluff movie..It did get me to laugh and smile a few t times. I did enjoy it, Given the material they had to work with, all actors did a great job..

Grandpa packs a punch...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 9 June 2018]

I didn't know what to expect when I sat down to watch this movie. And the reason why I did sit down to watch it was James Caan, pure and simple.

This movie was actually surprisingly better than I had dared to think it to be.

The storyline was good and entertaining, although somewhat predictable and generic. But it was the absurdity of the situations and the older actors that really made this an outstanding movie with their memorable performances.

There were some nice actors and actresses performing in "Undercover Grandpa", with the likes of James Caan, Louis Gossett Jr., Kenneth Welsh and Jessica Walter.

There is lots of action, well more or less taking into consideration the age of most of the people here. "Undercover Grandpa" was actually fun and wholesome entertainment for the entire family.

Good Cast but Rather Tedious Plot

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 15 October 2018]

"Jake Bouchard" (Dylan Everett) is a typical 17-year old high school student who finally gathers enough courage to ask a girl named "Angie" (Greta Onieogou) out on a date. Needless to say, he is delighted when she agrees. Not long afterward, however, he is told by his mother that his presence is required at home for the bi-weekly family dinner with his grandfather "Lou" (James Caan) who resides at the local nursing home. To make matters even more exasperating, Lou also has a history of telling outlandish stories about working as a secret agent which cause everybody to think he has gone senile. Be that as it may, left with few options he tells Angie that he will meet her at the party. However, as he is driving his grandfather back to the nursing home, Jake gets a call from Angie telling him that her car broke down in a bad part of town and asks him if he can swing by and pick her up. But when they finally arrive Angie is nowhere to be seen and it's then that Lou immediately suspects that she has been kidnapped. Naturally, Jake thinks his grandfather is going crazy again but changes his mind when Lou uncovers certain clues to support his theory. From that point on Lou takes charge and the first thing he does is to round up some of his old friends who worked with him in many of his clandestine missions. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film started out well enough but the plot soon became a bit too tired and clichéd to the point that not even a veteran cast which included Louis Gossett Jr. (as "Mother"), Jessica Walter ("Maddie Harcourt"), Kenneth Welsh ("Harry") and Paul Sorvino ("Giovanni") could save it. That being said, while this film wasn't necessarily bad, it's not something that I would highly recommend and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Don't Waste Your Time

[larrys3 · 3/10 · 8 August 2017]

I would say don't waste your time viewing this below B-quality mess of a movie. The humor is ham-fisted and the plot elements are silly and rather ridiculous, plus the age jokes get really tiresome.

The story revolves around 17-year-old Jake Bouchard (Dylan Everett) whose friend Angie has been kidnapped by a General wanted for war crimes and who is holding her in a heavily guarded warehouse. Jake will enlist the help of his grandfather Major Lou Crawford (James Caan), a former Canadian Special Forces officer from decades before, to help him free Angie. The Major will in turn enlist the help of his former military team to assist in the attack.

I'm sorry to say, it's nice to see such stalwarts of the silver screen as Caan, Louis Gossett Jr., Paul Sorvino, and Jessica Walter in a film together but not in a rather lame vehicle like this.

One for the over seventies

[KathleenK22 · 7/10 · 3 November 2017]

Most of us over 70 could not manage to work as hard as these guys did to produce this film. I asked my husband if he enjoyed the movie and he said he did. He is 75. Maybe the bad reviewers are too young and critical to appreciate a film about old people. It is not a great movie but it is also not a terrible one. Lower your expectations and sit back and enjoy a few old people jokes and the fact that 70 plus guys can actually make a reasonable movie. Caan is a good actor and he carries the film along with some help from his buddies. The two young ones do a reasonable job as well. They are older than the characters they are portraying. There are no earth shattering scenes or fast chases but the storyline is okay. It is about rescuing a damsel in distress by her boyfriend and his grandfather along with some aged buddies. There is no trick photography or devices used to make it faster paced or more exciting. Expect an okay movie and if you are over 70 it will help.

Brain dead rubbish

[biltong_jhb · 2/10 · 28 August 2020]

Predictable, saccharine, trope-ish nonsense. I was hoping the humour would save it but even that was trite, forced, and badly timed. No.

Reminds me of Cloak & Dagger with Dabney Coleman

[dennis-denio · 7/10 · 7 December 2019]

Just a fun family film, and I'm glad to see all these fantastic actors from years past, out having a good time. Louis Gossett Jr, James Caan, Paul Sorvino, and a few others. It's a lighthearted treat, and isn't aiming for an Oscar nomination, lol. Enjoy it for what it is intended for, entertainment.

Wasted cast

[taub · 5/10 · 2 April 2020]

The poor writing didn't take advantage of an excellent cast. I realize it's a comedy, but it's so unrealistic, it was hard to get into.

The Expendables with a lower budget.

[jumilulo-1 · 6/10 · 29 June 2020]

Ridiculous plot. Just ok for me,but it did keep my sons attention for the duration. Not an easy task these days.

Lame

[Jessicanu94 · 4/10 · 4 December 2018]

Idk I didn't really like much about this movie but it was not that bad either

Fun...entertaining...

[misavr-41653 · 8/10 · 2 August 2018]

It's a comedy, a teenage movie...so, if you watch this movie THAT way, then you'll enjoy it. But I guess a lot of whining "experts" here thought they were watching Rambo and expecting Mission impossible 7.

Silly, Awkward Fun

[compugor · 6/10 · 6 May 2019]

Not quite funny enough to justify the utterly ridiculous plot, but well-presented with top actors for a tension-free diversion worth the watch.

not enough fun

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 7 January 2019]

Jake Bouchard gets a date with his crush Angie Wagner. He has to cancel it for his visiting grandpa (James Caan) and his annoying outlandish war stories. The family thinks he's delusional. Angie goes missing and grandpa thinks it's a kidnapping. Using his military intelligence skills, he and the kid search for the missing girl. Secret agent Maddie Harcourt (Jessica Walter) claims that grandpa is actually delusional and his stories are fantasies. After escaping, they recruit grandpa's old crew.

The premise could be fun and there are certainly great old timers in the cast. There isn't enough flash and fun. This should be much sillier. It takes a little too long to get to the old geezers. The entire crew could be living in a secret agent old age home and they can be introduced early on when the family visits. That would give them more time to build chemistry. This needs to be fun and that's sorely missing. This great cast should have better material. The jokes aren't funny and all we're left with is a bunch of doddering old men. The kids are fine if somewhat uninspired. I want better for this cast.

Possibly the dumbest movie I've ever seen..

[kmatlack · 1/10 · 9 November 2017]

This may not have been the worst movie I've ever seen because there are so many terrible movies being made anymore but it certainly feels like it. Stupid "plot" with old retired government agent elements swiped from Bruce Willis',"RED"--but MUCH older men, the Robert Duvall old guy/young whippersnapper fight scene from "Second Hand Lions" and what seems to be the now requisite dopey teen love story. And I was once again reminded of what an awful--truly awful--actor James Caan is. Ugh. Can't believe I watched the thing all the way through. Another example of the complete lack of quality and creativity in entertainment anymore.

Decent family film.

[elmoslively · 6/10 · 2 September 2018]

The lead boy in this film looks like a cross between Justin Bieber and a young Zach Efron. That being said, this film is somewhat derivative and acted with weak aplomb by a bunch of actors who were probably just subsidising their social security cheques. The direction is pedestrian at best and they should have invested some money in special effects makeup for Jessica Walters. There is a reason she does mostly voice overs these days.

Who thought this was acceptable to publish?

[bhalfpenney · 4/10 · 8 July 2020]

Not too bad of a film, it's fun, cringey and stupid with plain humour. I have no clue how when they saw the final draft they thought it was acceptable to put out. The VFX (especially the lightning in the lab scene) just looks terrible and tacky to say that it was from 2013 is astonishing. Palpatine's force lightning looked better in ROTJ.

Extremely Low budget but still enjoyable nevertheless.

[Brooklynsmagicmike · 7/10 · 1 July 2020]

This movie was actually better then I expected. Pacing was good, the cast was great, and had decent amount of laughs.

I personally felt that if bigger company had picked this title up and gave it big budget it could became a massive cult classic. It almost felt even below a b-movie all to often. Everything was just cheap feeling and visuals were horrible. The action was also very choppy as well, instead helping the movie out it heavily detracted from it.

Overall still is decent flick and would recommend if you're someone whos not super hard to please.

Kids movie, I think.

[ryancny · 3/10 · 25 June 2020]

It's a PG13 Nickelodeon-esque 'spy' movie with more holes than a screen door. 45min in and I was thinking it was just a bad comedy. Committed at this point, I went on to realize it was probably a good movie for a very specific demographic... 12yr old boys.

Family fun movie

[bryanmartin1 · 7/10 · 27 June 2020]

I loved seeing all of these stars from the 70's and early 80's coming together for a family friendly movie. Yes, the plot line is predictable and yes it is intentionally a little ridiculous in some spots, but it's also a heartwarming film.

Not very entertaining

[drachenakz · 4/10 · 7 March 2020]

Although it begins quite well, this movie is hard to get excited about. All the "ex special forces" members aren't even the slightest bit believable and aside from pep rallies and "unit chants" they do not function like the badass team they were in the past. Their knowledge of weapons is hideous and they cannot even pretend to shoot guns. All in all it was hard to watch even from a basic entertainment standpoint because it was so painfully terrible.

Surprisingly Not Bad

[pguzik-73666 · 8/10 · 28 November 2017]

After reading reviews on line, I did not particularly want to see this film. But, I had a Red Box coupon for 16 cents, so I rented it. It was not as bad as ANY of the reviews said! It wasn't the best movie ever, but I would recommend watching this movie for people of all ages! It's funny and has action, which makes it a perfect film.

Caan, Gossett, Sorvino!

[duggies70 · 6/10 · 20 November 2022]

James Caan is my all time favorite actor and I very much enjoyed him in this. Lou Gossett impeccable as always. Any chance to see Paul Sorvino again I'll take it. As a kid growing up I remember seeing the Big Valley. Seeing Barbara Stanwyck, in her role I never had any emotional attachment to her, she was from another era entirely. So when I see some of the reviews that don't show enough respect from these veterans, it does sadden me. Probably reminds me of my shortcomings.

Maybe this is a modern day cocoon without the magic and science fiction (even though some might say this older crews action is science fiction). But it's a good story, the cinematography is very good, and the cast is likable. You could do much worse. Me and my best dog, Wilson, enjoyed it and if you give it a chance you might too.

SANTINO! LOOK AT WHAT THEY DUD YO MY BOY

[EvanKevelson · 3/10 · 9 August 2020]

James Caan was funny but there's only so much you can do. The "Villains" made this into a way too long Thee Stooges episode. The grandson was a horrible actor that Au thought "Grandpa" was the cover up. Three might be generous... But I laughed out of absurdity at 1/3 of it.

OK premise, weak execution... just doesn't work

[buckythewonderhorse · 4/10 · 20 January 2023]

The premise is ok: teenager Jake finally gets to take his crush (Angie) to a party, but first has to take home his grandpa, who can't stop talking about the things he used to do in the military. But when Angie mysteriously disappears, Grandpa says she's been kidnapped. So instead of Jake taking Grandpa home, Grandpa calls on his retired military connections to help rescue Angie.

Now I don't mind a B grade comedy-action movie (I really enjoyed the kids saving the day in The Sleepover (2020)), but this just didn't work. It all moves slowly, and doesn't have any real charm (I can't think of any good jokes), And when the action happens, it is either lame, or over-the-top silly (like grandpa single handedly fighting and taking out 3 bad guys with his bare hands).

I was going to give is a 3, but I bump it up to 4 for actually keeping to its comedy-action genre and not getting too violent. So it was not actually unpleasant, just meh.

"We can't fight the Krakhovians. We got mid-terms next week!"

[classicsoncall · 4/10 · 21 October 2020]

Well, I don't want to be too harsh because my granddaughter picks out these flicks for some family viewing and I can't be critical to the point of alienating. But boy oh boy, this was a bit of a chore to sit through. I kept mentally comparing the Sonny Corleone James Cann with the Undercover Grandpa James Caan and it just didn't compute. It's what happens when you turn eighty and still making movies, but still. Even so, Paul Sorvino is a tad older and Louis Gossett Jr. has him by four years, so this was a real Old Timers reunion. And lest one think I'm making fun, I'll be hitting seventy myself in a couple months, so more power to these guys.

As for the story, it gets a little over the top with the fictional Krakhovians kidnapping a teenage girl because she saw them kill somebody. Guess you can't blame them, but the story could have used a different premise. The teenage actors in the film were at best adequate, while the older, former headliners deserved a better script. I saw Louis Gossett Jr. receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hoboken International Film Festival (held in Greenwood Lake, New York!) two years ago, and he didn't receive it for stuff like this. What really blew my mind was the idea of Caan's character, ex-Major Lou Crawford, faking his own death at the end of the story so he could take off with former associate Maddy Harcourt (Jessica Walter). I guess those old timers still know how to have fun.

One upside to the picture though. My granddaughter being twelve years old at present, I suggested that something like this might be in her future. I don't mean the kidnapping part, I'm thinking more along the lines of undercover grandpa.