Colonel Richard "Dick" Kelly, asks him to drive him to Boca Raton, Florida, due to his driver’s license being suspended.

That night, a drunk Jason, wearing nothing but a hornet fanny pack, parties and accidentally smokes crack cocaine from drug dealer Pam.

During an awkward FaceTime session with Meredith and his family, a toddler grabs the fanny pack and takes it off; the boy's father calls the police who promptly arrest Jason.

[8][9] Prior to De Niro's casting, Jeff Bridges and Michael Douglas were considered for the starring role.

The Blu-ray edition featured an unrated version of the film, including an audio commentary, a making-of, a gag reel, and three featurettes.

[2][3] The film was released in North America on January 22, 2016, alongside The 5th Wave and The Boy, and was projected to gross $10–13 million from 2,912 theaters in its opening weekend.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Like a Werther's Original dropped down a sewer drain, Dirty Grandpa represents the careless fumbling of a classic talent that once brought pleasure to millions.

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter said that even though humor is subjective, "It can be definitively stated that Dirty Grandpa is utterly unfunny."

Scheck was especially critical of the uneven tone of the film, and says it "doesn't even have the courage of its anarchic convictions, frequently abandoning its tasteless humor to indulge in sentimental scenes".

[31] Nick Schager of Variety wrote: "This contemptible fiasco is not only comfortable courting laughs through ugly mockery of minorities, but also doesn't even have the courage of its own crass-as-I-wannabe convictions.

"[36] Glenn McDonald of Indy Week said: "The awful, ugly Dirty Grandpa is the comedy equivalent of torture porn ...

"[37] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film zero stars, and wrote: "If Dirty Grandpa isn't the worst movie of 2016, I have some serious cinematic torture in my near future.

"[38] Mark Kermode, on his BBC Radio 5 Live show, said, "after Dirty Grandpa I did feel genuinely unclean.

[40][41] Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com said: "The actor Bela Lugosi appeared in some landmark, perhaps even great, films at the beginning of his Hollywood career in the 1930s. ...

The cinematic landmarks of De Niro's career include films such as [Francis Ford] Coppola's The Godfather, Part II [sic] and Scorsese's Raging Bull.

However, Hassenger was positive about Plaza's performance, calling her the funniest part of the film and saying that "she and De Niro appear ready to run away together into a better movie".

He concluded that "There's a certain perverse brilliance, however accidental, to a movie that creates a longing for a foulmouthed Aubrey Plaza/Robert De Niro romcom.

"[43] Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail gave the film 2 out of 4 and wrote: "It's the direction, not the script, that really kills the picture, as Mazer limps along from the chugging contest to the half-naked conga line to the car chase without ever raising the laughs he needs from the comic set pieces or the tension he needs from the dramatic developments."

Taylor says the film is not sweet enough, or raunchy enough, and "seems unlikely to satisfy any audience" and concludes that De Niro's fans will be left pleading for better.