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THAT’S MY BOY

What You Need To Know:

THAT’S MY BOY tells the story of Donny Berger. As a 15-year-old in the late 1980s, Donny is seduced by an adult high school teacher and fathered a child. At first, he becomes rich and famous by exploiting the attention. Over the years, however, he lost his fortune as well as his son Todd, who changed his name and disowned him. Now, years later, Donny is broke and owes the IRS more than $43,000. A Reality TV producer offers him $50,000 to make peace with his son, Todd. Donny has to decide what’s more important – the money, or his newfound integrity as he tries to bond with his son during the son’s wedding.

THAT’S MY BOY is an extremely raunchy comedy. It produces some laughs, even if it makes those laughing feel the need to shower afterwards. Some scenes are vastly superior to others, but overall it feels like the filmmakers threw everything against the wall to see what stuck. The father and son reconcile at the end of THAT’S MY BOY. However, the rest of the movie contains wall-to-wall, abhorrent foul language, lewd content, and extreme alcohol abuse.

Content:

(PaPaPa, RoRo, B, C, Ab, LLL, V, SSS, NN, AAA, DD, MM) Very strong, somewhat mixed pagan worldview with strong Romantic elements, plus some light moral elements where an irresponsible father reconciles with his estranged son and content with and some light positive Christian content regarding two priests but balanced out by some Anti-Christian content such as one priest says the “f” word and another decides to quit being a priest because of his anger management issues; at least 190 obscenities and profanities, including a black priest utters an “f” word, plus urinating portrayed and gross vomit scene; strong comic violence includes property damage during drunken rampage through the streets, protagonist ends fights by bashing bottles against heads, boxing; very strong abhorrent sexual content includes three or four scenes set in a strip club with close-ups of an obese almost nude female dancer, father discovers son’s golddigger bride-to-be having sexual relations with her brother (which she tries to justify), a grandmother is seen trying to seduce the male lead while wearing ridiculously old-fashioned sleepwear and fornication is implied, other implied fornication by the grandmother with male lead’s friend, teachers and students applaud and cheer when teacher is caught having intercourse with 15-year-old boy (who takes a bow), depicted and implied self abuse and two gross aftermath scenes; shots of upper female nudity, rear female nudity, and upper male nudity; drunken abuse of alcohol and attendant behavior, such as desperately urinating in public, are repeatedly shown; a couple scenes where characters are portrayed positively smoking marijuana from paraphernalia; and, lying, deception, super-bad parenting skills shown and mentioned, tawdry media sensationalism, and father and son are estranged but they reconcile in the end.

More Detail:

THAT’S MY BOY is an extremely raunchy comedy that at one point sets a new low in taste for the genre. It has a strong Romantic worldview exacerbated by a Pagan bacchanal spirit for much of the movie, yet it delivered raucous laughs to a secular audience through its manic energy and spirited performances. Its higher than average production values makes it all the more insidious, as it could be a mid-level hit polluting the minds of millions of young people.

The movie tells the story of Donny Berger (played by Adam Sandler). As a 15-year-old in the late 1980s, Donny was seduced by an adult high school teacher and fathered a child. At first, he became rich and famous by exploiting the attention, but over the years he lost his fortune as well as his son Todd (played by Andy Samberg), who changed his name and disowned him.

Now, years later, Donny is broke and learns he has to come up with more than $43,000 to meet his debt with the IRS or go to prison. However, a Reality TV producer offers him $50,000 to make peace with his son, Todd, and convince Todd to visit his mother in prison. Donny has to decide what’s more important – the money, or his newfound integrity developed as he tries to bond with his son for real over the son’s wedding weekend. Donny has discovered he does care about his son and wants to remain part of his new life.

THAT’S MY BOY marks one of the few R-rated comedies Sandler has done since taking the reins of his career with BILLY MADISON in 1995. While he’s often traded in a strong level of risqué or raunchy humor for his PG-13 movies, THAT’S MY BOY takes those elements to a much higher (or, should we say, lower) level. The movie has plenty of laughs if one can stomach a parade of profane talk and raunchy behavior, but discerning, media-wise reviewers and viewers are likely to be offended by it across the board.

In fact, the movie’s very premise is offensive. It makes light of sex scandals where pretty female teachers seduce their underage male students. It particularly satirizes the Mary Kay LeTourneau sex scandal by showing the lead character as a teenager receiving great monetary rewards, attention and adulation for being in the midst of such a tawdry situation. THAT’S MY BOY also has wall-to-wall obscenities, profanities, and crude sexual content and innuendos.

In addition to all this, a Catholic priest humorously boxes the father’s son and knocks him out. Also, the father repeatedly ends fights by smashing glass bottles into attackers’ heads, including the priest. The priest is discussed favorably by the bride’s family, and makes a friendly apology to the son, whom he boxed, later in the story. The father then tells the priest, “You’re not cut out for this.” “You’re right,” the priest replies, slipping off his priestly collar and quitting.

THAT’S MY BOY produces some laughs, even if it makes those laughing feel the need to shower afterwards. Sometimes it feels slapdash, with some scenes vastly superior to others, but overall it feels like the moviemakers threw everything against the wall to see what stuck. The father and son reconcile at the end of THAT’S MY BOY, but the rest of the movie contains extremely abhorrent behavior designed to shock viewers and elicit obscene laughs.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.