That's My Boy

The kindest thing you can say about this Adam Sandler comedy is that it's not as awful as his previous one, Jack and Jill. That said, it's still largely a laugh-free zone, a lazy amalgam of shoddy slapstick, stereotypes and sentimentality, with added gross-out moments. Sandler plays a former tabloid celebrity whose claim to fame was that he got his teacher pregnant when he was a teenager; she ended up in prison, leaving him to bring up their child. Fast-forward three decades and Sandler is facing jail for unpaid taxes, so he signs a deal with a TV show to set up a family reunion. However, his son (Andy Samberg), now a high-flying financier who is about to get married, wants nothing to do with the boorish father he walked out on years before. Samberg gives it his all in a thankless role and there are some amusing supporting turns from an eclectic cast that includes former Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia and Vanilla Ice (sending himself up as a fellow washed-up 1980s celebrity). James Caan and Susan Sarandon also turn up, for no discernible reason.