That's My Boy - Adam Sandler's latest man-child gets close to the knuckle

Adam Sandler plays yet another of his boorish man-child types in crass comedy That's My Boy, which adds close-to-the-knuckle raunchiness to the star's usual mix of stupidity and sentimentality.

His character is washed-up 1980s celebrity Donny Berger, a vulgar layabout who won notoriety as a schoolboy by fathering a child with his teacher. Now, two decades later, facing jail over an unpaid tax bill, he needs the help of his estranged son (Andy Samberg), a strait-laced business whiz who is about to marry into a snooty upper-class family (Leighton Meester plays his fiancée). Of course, the oafish Donny creates havoc - especially during his son's bachelor party - but ends up winning over the blue bloods and eventually bonding with his son.

Although Donny's antics more deserve a slap than applause, That's My Boy is marginally less obnoxious than Sandler's previous outing, the execrable Jack and Jill, and scores some chuckles with an amusingly self-mocking role for rapper Vanilla Ice and a surprise cameo appearance by Susan Sarandon.

Released on DVD & Blu-ray by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on Monday 21st January.

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A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.