Parents' Guide to Bad Grandmas

In the unintentionally truthful advertising department, Grandmas really is bad. Henderson's apparently final film appearance is wasted in this film, which has to keep reminding us it's a comedy through egregious use of fiddles and banjos. When Mimi and her friends get mixed up in the sort-of accidental shooting and end up dismembering the victim, there's no emotional response whatsoever. And it happens to another bad guy later, with a whole lotta (bloodless) bludgeoning. So are these women psychopaths? Grier is among them, but you can hardly tell it's her under the odd blonde wig and lack of characterization in the script and direction.

Every moment seems to take too long, scenes are rife with unnecessary shots and edits, and exposition is crammed down our throats. There's no emotional resonance in Bad Grandmas, and there are no consequences -- and, therefore, there are no stakes. And, just like drama, comedy needs stakes to succeed -- either that, or it has to leap fully into the absurd, à la Monty Python. This ain't that. No one appears to have bothered to think through the plot or add interesting complications. Threads are left dangling (maybe there was supposed to be some mother-daughter drama, but it doesn't materialize, while another daughter's potential romance is a bizarre afterthought). The similarly themed The Homebodies much more effectively explores this territory. Most viewers' hours will be better spent with a visit to their actual grandmas.