Day: July 16, 2008

Recommended non-serious film entertainment: Grandma's Boy, 2006. A Mike Judge-sharp script without Mike Judge and the regular Adam Sandler cast without Adam Sandler. The setting is a heavily SoCal-ified videogame company called Brainasium. The protagonist Alex, played by Allen Covert, is a 35 year old accountant turned game designer who through various plot foolishness has to move in with his grandmother. Typical sitcom situations: (1) Alex needs to get grandma out of the house so he can get stoned and work on his "levels" for the game Brainasium is on deadline to produce*; (2) Grandma and her friends find Alex's pot and mistake it for tea--when Alex comes home they are rolling on the floor watching a Spanish-language game show; (3) child prodigy game designer thinks his long black leather coat makes him invisible; (4) pot dealer buys a lion to guard his house, etc. Can't totally vouch for this because only saw two thirds of the bleeped TV version (have GOT to get rid of this cable) but that sampling was a laff riot.

*Jeff: What's up, shitlips.
Alex: Hey, I need a huge favor.
Jeff: You're not jerking off on my dad.
Alex: Funny. No, I was wondering if you could do some of my levels.
Jeff: No, why can't you do them?
Alex: It's my roommates. They won't stop watching... porn. I can't get any work done.
Jeff: You're dead to me. Over.
[hangs up phone]
Alex: Well, Jeff's a good friend.