Today’s quick review: That’s My Boy. In junior high, Donny Berger (Adam Sandler) became a national celebrity when he got his teacher pregnant. Now Donny is a washed-up partier who has just one weekend to pay his debt to the IRS or go to jail. Looking for a quick buck, Donny crashes the wedding of his rich, estranged son Todd (Andy Samberg). But as the weekend goes on, Donny finds himself bonding with Todd in a way he never did before.
That’s My Boy is a raunchy comedy starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg as a dysfunctional father-son duo. Donny was a teenage sensation who never grew up. Todd is a successful hedge fund manager who has done everything possible to distance himself from his father. That’s My Boy reunites the two after years apart, watching the sparks fly as Donny tries to spice up Todd’s wedding and Todd tries to hide the fact that Donny is his father.
That’s My Boy goes all-in on the pairing of Sandler and Samberg. Most of the jokes come from the antics of Donny and his friends, while Todd serves as a springboard thanks to his awkward, shy personality. To the movie’s credit, the actors are well-matched, and their rapport grows as the movie goes on. But the humor itself can be overwhelming, an avalanche of ribald jokes that many viewers will not find funny or tasteful.
As for its story, That’s My Boy has what it needs and not much else. The premise of a hard-partying father reconciling with his uptight son works well enough. Other plot elements, such as Donny’s childhood tryst with his teacher or his race to pay his back taxes, come across as contrived. Ultimately, That’s My Boy is structured around finding things for Donny and Todd to do together, no matter how random or outrageous.
Your enjoyment of That’s My Boy will depend heavily on your comedic preferences. Viewers with a taste for crude jokes, rampant sexual references, and drunken revelry will feel right at home with That’s My Boy. Viewers with a more delicate palette will find the movie difficult to get through, as it puts its off-color humor ahead of story and character. Only give it a shot if you are willing to take a gamble.
For a more tactful comedy with some of the same attitude, check out Wedding Crashers. For a crude comedy with a similar sense of humor and similar flaws, try Game Over, Man!. For another comedy about a partier cutting loose, try Get Him to the Greek.
[5.5 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232200/). I give it a 6.0 for raunchy, hit-or-miss comedy within an eclectic plot.