''That's My Boy'' is a 2012 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Sean Anders Sean Anders (born June 19, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. Career He co-wrote and directed the 2005 film ''Never Been Thawed'', the 2008 film ''Sex Drive (film), Sex Drive'', the 2014 film ''Horrible Bosses 2'', the 2015 f ...

, written by David Caspe, and produced by

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

, Jack Giarraputo, Heather Parry, and

Allen Covert Allen Stephen Covert (born October 13, 1964) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for his starring role in the 2006 comedy film '' Grandma's Boy'', and his supporting actor role in the movie '' Strange Wilderne ...

. It stars Sandler and Andy Samberg, with Leighton Meester and

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

. It also stars

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas, raised in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success foll ...

Tony Orlando Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis (born April 3, 1944), known professionally as Tony Orlando, is an American Pop music, pop/Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and music executive whose career spans nearly seven decades. He is best known for h ...

, Will Forte,

Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia ( ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...

, and Susan Sarandon in supporting roles. The film follows Donny Berger (Sandler), a middle-aged alcoholic who once enjoyed celebrity status for being at the center of a teacher-student

statutory rape In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behaviour). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sex ...

case, as he tries to rekindle his relationship with his adult son, Todd Peterson/Han Solo Berger (Samberg), born as the result of that illicit relationship, in hopes that their televised reunion will earn him enough money to avoid going to prison for his tax debts. Produced by Sandler's Happy Madison Productions in association with

Relativity Media Relativity Media, LLC is an American independent media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company ...

, ''That's My Boy'' was released in the United States on June 15, 2012, by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, to a critical and commercial failure, grossing only $57.7 million against a $57.5–70 million budget and was negatively reviewed by critics.

Plot

In 1984

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, Donny Berger flirts with his middle-school teacher, Mary McGarricle, who seems repulsed by his actions and gives him a month's detention. However, in detention, Mary seduces Donny and they begin a sexual relationship, which is discovered during an auditorium speech. Subsequently, Mary is sentenced to 30 years in prison for

while the scandal makes Donny famous. After Mary is also revealed to be pregnant, custody of their unborn son is given to Donny's physically abusive father until Donny turns 18 to assume full custody. Twenty-eight years later, Donny is an alcoholic and broke slacker who owes $43,000 to the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

(IRS) in back taxes. To avoid spending three years in prison for this, he places a $20 bet on an 8000:1 runner in an upcoming race but decides to make a backup plan should the runner lose. Meanwhile, he has also been estranged from his now-adult son for the past 10 years. To avoid contact with his parents and others discovering the family connection, their son changed his name from

Han Solo Han Solo () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the 1977 film ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'', and later appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''Star Wars: The F ...

Berger to Todd Peterson and told others that his parents died in an explosion. Now a successful businessman, Todd has recently arrived at the

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

house of his boss, Steve Spirou, where he is to marry his fiancée, Jamie. Randall Morgan, a television producer who worked with Donny during his time as a celebrity, offers him $50,000 if he can organize a reunion with Todd and Mary. Informed of Todd's upcoming wedding in a newspaper, Donny arrives at Cape Cod. Todd, who did not expect the visit, pretends Donny is an old friend, and Donny's popularity with the guests annoys him. He initially refuses to see Mary, but after Donny convinces Jamie's family to have the wedding rehearsal away from churches and Todd's friends to have the bachelor party at a strip club, Todd reconciles with him and agrees to the prison meeting. However, as a television crew arrives to film in the middle of Todd and Mary's encounter, Todd leaves in disgust without signing a release form. Donny then finds out Jamie is having affairs with Steve and her brother, Chad, which she hides by giving Todd a cover story and paying Donny $50,000 to not tell anyone. However, Donny feels guilty for withholding the truth, and he interrupts the wedding just in time to reveal his biological connection to Todd and demands Jamie reveal her

infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include non-consensual non-monogamy, cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, se ...

and

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

. Todd breaks up with Jamie, accepts Donny as his father, quits his job, and reclaims his birth name, Han Solo. Han Solo later begins dating strip club bartender Brie and offers Donny the money, but Donny declines, insisting on taking responsibility for his actions. While preparing to go to prison to rekindle his relationship with Mary after his sentence is over, the bet he placed on the marathon wins him $160,000, satisfying the IRS.

Cast

as Donny Berger ** Justin Weaver as Young Donny * Andy Samberg as Han Solo Berger/Todd Peterson, Donny and Mary's son * Leighton Meester as Jamie Martin, Todd's fiancé *

as himself, Uncle Vanny, Donny's best friend *

as Father McNally *

as Chad Martin, Jamie's younger brother *

Blake Clark Blake Clark is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known as Chet Hunter on '' Boy Meets World'' and Harry Turner on '' Home Improvement''. Clark has voiced Slinky Dog in the ''Toy Story'' franchise starting with 2008's '' Toy Sto ...

as Gerald, Jamie and Chad's father * Meagen Fay as Helen, Jamie and Chad's mother *

as Steve Spirou, Todd's boss * Will Forte as Phil * Rachel Dratch as Phil's wife * Nick Swardson as Kenny * Peggy Stewart as Grandma Delores, Steve's mother * Luenell as Champale, a stripper and Brie's mother *

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

as Brie, a bartender and Donny's friend, Todd's secondary love interest * Ana Gasteyer as Mrs. Ravensdale * Susan Sarandon as Mary McGarricle (present-day), Donny's middle school teacher/lover and Todd's mother ** Eva Amurri Martino as younger Mary McGarricle * Todd Bridges as himself * Dan Patrick as Randall Morgan * Rex Ryan as Jim Nance * Jackie Sandler as Masseuse *

Erin Andrews Erin Jill Andrews (born May 4, 1978) is an American sportscaster and television personality. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox Sports in 2 ...

as Randall Morgan's receptionist * Peter Dante as Dante Spirou, Steve's son *

Alan Thicke Alan Willis Thicke (né Jeffrey; 1 March 1947 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitco ...

as TV version Donny's dad * Ian Ziering as TV version Donny * Colin Quinn as Strip club DJ * Baron Davis as Gym coach *

Dennis Dugan Dennis Barton Dugan (; born September 5, 1946) is an American film director, actor, and comedian. He is known for directing the films ''Problem Child (film), Problem Child'', ''Brain Donors'', ''Beverly Hills Ninja'' and ''National Security (20 ...

as School janitor Credits adapted from ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

''.

Production

The film was originally titled ''I Hate You, Dad'', and then changed to ''Donny's Boy'' before the producers finally settled on ''That's My Boy''. Filming began on May 2, 2011, and ended on July 15, 2011. Filming took place in

, with studio filming at

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

Release

Home media

''That's My Boy'' was released to

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on October 16, 2012, by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

Reception

Box office

''That's My Boy'' opened on June 15, 2012, grossing $13,453,714 in its opening weekend, ranking #4 behind the second weekends of '' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted'' and ''

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...

'', and the opening of '' Rock of Ages''. The film grossed $36.9 million in the United States and $57.7 million worldwide, failing to recoup its $57–70 million budget, making it a financial failure.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''That's My Boy'' has an approval rating of 21% based on 111 reviews and an average rating of 3.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "While it does represent a new foray into raunch for the normally PG-13 Sandler, ''That's My Boy'' finds him repeating himself to diminishing effect – and dragging Andy Samberg down with him." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A to F scale. Film critic

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...

gave the film an F, calling it "an ugly, tasteless, deadly and mean-spirited piece of filmmaking," and would later call it the worst film of 2012. Justin Chang of '' Variety'' called it "a shameless celebration of degenerate behavior, a work of relentless vulgarity and staggering moral idiocy." '' Half in the Bag'' called the film "pathetic" and "painful", and went on to criticize Sandler as a comic, suggesting he was unable to create humor that was not based on childish jokes.Half in the Bag: ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER and THAT'S MY BOY
redlettermedia.com (July 28, 2012). Retrieved on August 26, 2012. The film was criticized for making light of statutory rape, incest, and

child neglect Child neglect is an act of caregivers (e.g., parents) that results in depriving a child of their basic needs, such as the failure to provide adequate supervision, health care, clothing, or housing, as well as other physical, emotional, social, ...

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:That's My Boy 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s sex comedy films 2012 black comedy films 2012 films American black comedy films American sex comedy films Columbia Pictures films Fictional portrayals of the Boston Police Department Films about alcoholism Films about dysfunctional families Films about father–son relationships Films about incest Films about sibling incest Films about juvenile sexuality Films about rape in the United States Films about scandalous teacher–student relationships Films directed by Sean Anders Films produced by Adam Sandler Films produced by Allen Covert Films produced by Jack Giarraputo Films produced by John Morris (filmmaker) Films scored by Rupert Gregson-Williams Films set in 1984 Films set in 2012 Films set in Massachusetts Films shot in Massachusetts Golden Raspberry Award–winning films Happy Madison Productions films Obscenity controversies in film Relativity Media films English-language black comedy films Films set in Cape Cod and the Islands English-language sex comedy films