Film

Bad Grandmas

Four grandmothers accidentally kill a conman and must dispose of the body before his partner arrives. It's a high-concept comedy that trades on the novelty of older women in an action setup, with a cast that leans into the absurdity. Charm depends entirely on whether you find the premise—senior citizens as accidental criminals—genuinely funny or just contrived.

TMDb rating2.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like crime capers where the escalating mess is played for broad, cheeky laughs and the lead characters are seasoned veterans who refuse to be underestimated.

Skip it if you want a tightly plotted thriller or a sharp, grounded comedy, since this one is loose, silly and happy to let its farce wander rather than tighten.

What it asks of you: Roughly ninety minutes of broad, brisk escapism that wants you laughing along rather than squinting at logic, with violence handled for comic shock more than dread.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

RED2010

Retired assassins pulled back into one last job. Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman prove that age is irrelevant to action cool, with a script that respects their intelligence and leans into dark humour without apology.

But If you need kinetic, wall-to-wall spectacle, this moves at a more deliberate pace. The tone is knowingly silly in places where you might want genuine stakes.

RED poster

Going in Style2017

Three retired men plan a heist to rob a bank. Released the same year as Bad Grandmas, it has genuine warmth alongside the crime-caper setup, and Michael Caine, Alan Arkin, and Morgan Freeman carry real character work beneath the premise.

But The heist plotting is fairly straightforward and predictable. If you're watching for clever twists, you'll see most of them coming from a distance.

Going in Style poster

The Expendables2010

An action ensemble of aging action stars shooting things. It's unpretentious fun that celebrates its own absurdity—older men doing exactly what they've always done, without apology or self-consciousness.

But The plot is genuinely thin, the dialogue is functional at best, and the action, while plentiful, isn't particularly inventive. It's spectacle without substance.

The Expendables poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Bad Grandmas

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Red Sparrow2018

Both films centre female characters in traditionally male-dominated genres, though this one takes its premise with deadly seriousness rather than comedy.

A Russian ballerina turned spy, trained from childhood in seduction and betrayal. Like Bad Grandmas, it uses genre—spy thriller instead of action-comedy—to subvert expectations about who gets to be the protagonist, though here with genuine menace and sexual intelligence.

But It's a slow-burn espionage film, not an action movie. The deliberate pacing and moral ambiguity frustrate audiences expecting clear heroes and momentum.

Red Sparrow poster
More like this (6)

Grumpy Old Men1993

Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau as feuding neighbours, with a warmth and chemistry that makes the bickering feel genuine. It's a comedy built on character and performance, not just premise.

But The romantic subplot is dated and feels obligatory. Some of the humour lands soft and might feel slight if you're after something with more edge.

Grumpy Old Men poster

Cocoon1985

Retirement-community residents are rejuvenated by contact with aliens. A genuinely inventive high-concept film that treats older people with respect and affection, blending science fiction wonder with genuine human warmth.

But It's fundamentally earnest and sincere in ways that can feel dated. If you're looking for irreverence or edge, this isn't it.

Cocoon poster

The Poseidon Adventure1972

A disaster film built around an ensemble cast including Gene Hackman and Shelley Winters, fighting their way through a capsized ship. It's pure, unpretentious spectacle with real stakes and strong character work.

But The pacing feels glacial by modern standards and the special effects, while impressive for 1972, are obviously dated. The earnestness can tip into melodrama.

The Poseidon Adventure poster

Bubba Ho-tep2002

An ageing Elvis and a Black JFK fight an ancient mummy in a Texas nursing home. It's deeply weird, genuinely creative, and treats its older-person premise with the gravity of a serious horror film, which somehow makes it funnier.

But It's deliberately lo-fi and deliberately slow. If you need production gloss and constant momentum, the indie aesthetic and midnight-movie pacing will feel like a slog.

Bubba Ho-tep poster

Tampopo1985

Both are ensemble comedies built on the pleasure of watching mismatched characters bumble through crimes and chaos together, though this one operates in dream-logic rather than conventional plotting.

A Japanese road-movie-disguised-as-a-ramen-western. An eccentric ensemble goes on a quest that's part crime-caper, part food odyssey. It's surreal, funny, and built around the strange power of a disparate group accidentally pulled together.

But It's genuinely peculiar in ways that resist plot summary. If you need narrative coherence and recognizable genre structure, this will feel like it's mocking your expectations (it is, lovingly).

Tampopo poster

Iris2001

Bad Grandmas uses older women as a comic device; this uses them as the full measure of a human life—it's what happens when you actually centre older people as the subject rather than the joke.

A true biography of the brilliant, troubled writer Iris Murdoch, tracking her relationship with her partner John Bayley across decades. Kate Winslet and Judi Dench are both luminous; it captures the texture of a life with rare precision and tenderness.

But It's deliberately sad, charting Iris's decline into dementia with unflinching honesty. There's beauty here, but no comfort. If you're watching for levity or an uplifting message, this will feel like a punishment.

Iris poster

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