# That's My Boy (2012 film)
**That's My Boy** is a 2012 American comedy directed by Sean Anders and written by David Caspe, starring [Adam Sandler](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-sandler) as Donny Berger, an alcoholic deadbeat father who fathered a son, Todd ([Andy Samberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-samberg)), with his middle-school teacher while still a teenager himself, and who reappears on the eve of Todd's wedding after years of estrangement.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thatsmyboy) The film was produced by [Happy Madison Productions](https://www.edgepedia.org/happy-madison-productions) and distributed by Sony Pictures, and it marked Sandler's move into R-rated territory after a run of PG-13 comedies.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Wide US release June 15, 2012, by Sony Pictures; video release October 16, 2012[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy) |
| Runtime and rating | 115 minutes (116 minutes per the Australian classification); rated R for crude sexual content throughout, nudity, pervasive language, and some drug use[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy) • [4](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/thats-my-boy) |
| Principal cast | Adam Sandler (Donny), Andy Samberg (Todd), Leighton Meester (Jamie), Susan Sarandon, Vanilla Ice, and James Caan[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thatsmyboy) |
| Box office | Domestic $36,931,089; opening weekend $13,453,714 in 3,030 theaters[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy) |
| Worldwide gross | $57,719,093 per Box Office Mojo; $58,879,681 per The Numbers[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1232200/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy) |
| Critical reception | 20% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (109 reviews); Metascore 31 on Metacritic, based on 27 critic reviews[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/thats-my-boy/) |
| Razzie Awards | Adam Sandler won Worst Actor at the 2013 Razzies, becoming the third person to win that award in two consecutive years[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232200/awards/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story opens in 1984, when the cocky Massachusetts teenager Donny Berger wins the inappropriate attentions of his teacher, Mary McGarricle (played by Eva Amurri).[8](https://www.screendaily.com/thats-my-boy/5043340.article) As a teenager himself, Donny became the father of a boy named Todd, whom he brought up alone until the child turned 18, at which point Donny sent him off on his own.[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thatsmyboy) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012)
Years later, Todd has reinvented himself as a successful adult on the verge of marrying into a wealthy, conservative family.[9](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/i-thought-crude-comedies-were-dead-but-this-netflix-movie-proved-me-wrong-im-still-laughing-at-the-raunchy-jokes) Donny, now broke and clinging to his past celebrity, shows up uninvited on the eve of Todd's wedding, desperate for money and a renewed connection with his son, and proceeds to bulldoze into weddings and family gatherings while revealing Todd's history.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012) • [9](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/i-thought-crude-comedies-were-dead-but-this-netflix-movie-proved-me-wrong-im-still-laughing-at-the-raunchy-jokes) The premise rests on the statutory-rape relationship between the young Donny and his teacher, material that several reviewers identified as the film's defining provocation.[8](https://www.screendaily.com/thats-my-boy/5043340.article) • [10](https://ofcs.org/reviews-thats-my-boy-2012/)
## Production and title changes
The film went through two earlier titles: it started out as *I Hate You, Dad*, was renamed *Donny's Boy*, and finally became *That's My Boy*.[11](https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2012/03/01/adam-sandler-and-andy-samberg-local-movie-gets-new-name-and-nsfw-trailer/TBVsv4vF0oXlBleJP8UqEL/story.html) It was filmed around Massachusetts; one major location was the Cabaret Lounge in Peabody, which was turned into the fictional strip club Bacon & Legs.[11](https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2012/03/01/adam-sandler-and-andy-samberg-local-movie-gets-new-name-and-nsfw-trailer/TBVsv4vF0oXlBleJP8UqEL/story.html) The Boston Globe noted that the film is not a remake of the 1951 comedy *That's My Boy* starring [Dean Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-martin) and [Jerry Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-lewis).[11](https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2012/03/01/adam-sandler-and-andy-samberg-local-movie-gets-new-name-and-nsfw-trailer/TBVsv4vF0oXlBleJP8UqEL/story.html)
Production and financing came from [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures), Relativity Media, and Happy Madison, with Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Heather Parry, and [Allen Covert](https://www.edgepedia.org/allen-covert) producing.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy) Reported budgets differ by source: IMDb and [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) list $70,000,000, while The Numbers lists a production budget of $57,500,000.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1232200/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy)
## Reception
**Critics.** The film scored 20% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 109 reviews, with a critics consensus that it finds Sandler "repeating himself to diminishing effect" while dragging Andy Samberg down with him.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012) Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 31, categorized as generally unfavorable, with 3 of 27 reviews positive, 10 mixed, and 14 negative.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/thats-my-boy/) The Guardian's John Patterson wrote that the film was pitched toward the core Sandler audience of prepubescent boys, the demographic that cannot see an R-rated movie.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/sep/01/adam-sandler-thats-my-boy) [The Irish Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-irish-times) reviewer Tara Brady gave it 2 out of 5, while Empire's Chris Hewitt gave it 3 out of 5, calling it not nearly as terrible as recent Sandler films.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012) At the 2013 Razzie Awards, Sandler won Worst Actor, and the film drew nominations for Worst Screen Couple, Worst Director (Sean Anders), and Worst Supporting Actor for Nick Swardson and [Vanilla Ice](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanilla-ice).[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232200/awards/)
**Box office.** The opening weekend of $13,453,714 was described by the Los Angeles Times as a disastrous opening for a comic whose films had routinely opened in the $30-million to $40-million range.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy) • [13](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-jun-19-la-et-big-picture-20120619-story.html) The film placed fourth in its first weekend, fell 43 percent in its second, and finished its six-week domestic run at $36,931,089.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy) Against either reported budget, the worldwide gross of roughly $58 million left the theatrical run well short of its production cost; a ScreenProfits finance model estimates a net loss of about $61 million for 2012 dollars.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1232200/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy) • [14](https://screenprofits.com/film/that-s-my-boy-2012/) Domestic physical disc sales added an estimated $8,130,691.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy)
## Later availability and reappraisal
The film has since been available on Netflix, where a 2026 Tom's Guide piece described it as an example of the loud, crude comedy of the 2010s and called it underrated by the masses.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012) • [9](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/i-thought-crude-comedies-were-dead-but-this-netflix-movie-proved-me-wrong-im-still-laughing-at-the-raunchy-jokes) Audience scores have run higher than critics' scores: the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter stood at 51 percent from more than 100,000 ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012) The film's treatment of its statutory-rape premise has remained a recurring point of criticism in retrospective discussion.[10](https://ofcs.org/reviews-thats-my-boy-2012/)
## References
1. [That's My Boy (2012), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thats_my_boy_2012)
2. [That's My Boy, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thatsmyboy)
3. [That's My Boy (2012), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Thats-My-Boy)
4. [That's My Boy, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/thats-my-boy)
5. [That's My Boy (2012), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1232200/)
6. [That's My Boy Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/thats-my-boy/)
7. [That's My Boy (2012), Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232200/awards/)
8. [That's My Boy, Review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/thats-my-boy/5043340.article)
9. [I thought crude comedies were dead, but this Netflix movie proved me wrong, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/i-thought-crude-comedies-were-dead-but-this-netflix-movie-proved-me-wrong-im-still-laughing-at-the-raunchy-jokes)
10. [Reviews: That's My Boy (2012), Online Film Critics Society](https://ofcs.org/reviews-thats-my-boy-2012/)
11. [New name, same movie, The Boston Globe](https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2012/03/01/adam-sandler-and-andy-samberg-local-movie-gets-new-name-and-nsfw-trailer/TBVsv4vF0oXlBleJP8UqEL/story.html)
12. [Adam Sandler's That's My Boy - giving gross-out a bad name, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/sep/01/adam-sandler-thats-my-boy)
13. ['That's My Boy' is an ominous sign for Adam Sandler, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-jun-19-la-et-big-picture-20120619-story.html)
14. [That's My Boy (2012) Box Office, Profit / Loss, Cast Salaries & Data, ScreenProfits](https://screenprofits.com/film/that-s-my-boy-2012/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2011 to 2012 › Released in 2012*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license