“Hip-Hop Retirement Home”
You’ve seen this shortcut many times. A grandmotherly woman (or grandfatherly man) is totally hip with what the kids find so popular these days. And they express their hipness for cheap laughs. How many times have you seen a movie grandma use horrendous profanity or discuss her womanly needs in grotesque TMI fashion?
Another example of the “Hip-Hop Retirement Home” shortcut is to pick any older authority figure (A judge, priest, university chancellor, etc.) and have everyone afraid of doing something inappropriate in front of him or her. Everyone goes out of his or her way to make sure that nothing goes wrong when this person arrives. (typically for an inspection or contest) When the authority figure does arrive, everyone is aghast when things go completely wrong. Of course, everyone assumes that they’ve flunked the inspection/lost the competition. There’s always a tense moment until . . . it turns out that the elderly authority figure is down with the youngsters! He (or she) just wants to party down, tap the keg and smoke out. She (or he) then announces that the youngsters have won the contest or passed the inspection. Of course, this shortcut wouldn’t be complete without seeing the authority figure partying down with the winners!
So what else besides the “Foul-Mouthed Granny” or “Hip-Hop Authority Figure” fits into our “Hip-Hop Retirement Home” shortcut? Why the “Hip-Hop Retirement Home” itself! Who hasn’t seen a situation in which a youngster is forced into volunteering at a retirement home, only everyone there is so drugged up and pathetic that he (or she) figures they have to liven things up. In this case, she (or he) either stops giving the old folks their medicine or, by some cruel twist of fate, makes some “special brownies” that get served to the old folks for lunch. In either situation, the retirees start boogying down and getting jiggy with it. Of course, this results in our volunteer getting fired from his (or her) volunteer stint. Everything turns out all right at the end, however, when the volunteer gets asked back because the retirees love him (or her) and just want to get down!
To sum up, the “Hip-Hop Retirement Home” is typically used for the cheap laughs it usually gets. Interestingly, the same people who laugh at this Hollywood Shortcut would probably be more than just a little freaked (and a trifle bit disgusted) if their real Grandma and Grandpa acted in this manner. But as long as they do laugh, we’ll still get foul talking grannies and boogy down grandpas.
