Grandma's Boy

Alex (Allen Covert) has one sweet life. After walking away from his death by accounting job, he's now a video game tester at Brainasium, the company responsible for the worldwide gaming phenom of "Eternal Death Slayer." At 35, he may be the oldest tester in the business (he's called "Gray Bush" by his co-workers),but he's also the best. But when his roommate fails to pay the rent for six months because he's spent every last cent at Madame Wu's Filipino Palace ("They're not hookers, they're massage therapists!"),Alex unfortunately finds himself on the street. His friendly dealer Dante (Peter Dante) can't let Alex crash because he has a business to run and besides, the guard lion will be arriving any day. His friend Jeff (Nick Swardson) agrees to put him up, until that unfortunate accident involving Alex and the action figure in the bathroom…which Jeff's mom happens to, well, catch. Alex's last resort is to move in with three hot babes—that's what he tells his friends, at any rate. In actuality, the 35-year-old finds himself living with his sweet and loving 80-year-old grandma Lilly (Doris Roberts),along with her two roommates: the "been there, done that repeatedly" octogenarian Grace (Shirley Jones) and the not-quite-all-there, overly medicated Bea (Shirley Knight). Lilly dotes on Alex and keeps him housed and fed—in exchange for a few simple chores around the place, like taking out the trash and sandblasting the house. So things are busy for Alex both at his new home and at work. Brainasium's New Age-y honcho Mr. Cheezle (Kevin Nealon) has brought in hotshot (and really hot) gaming exec Samantha (Linda Cardellini) from New York to help whip "Eternal Death Slayer Three" into shape before its street date. Seems the series' creator, über-nerd wiz kid J.P. (Joel David Moore),has been coasting on his rep—he was a millionaire by the time he turned 13—and his newest entry has a few bugs. The game's kinks are no prob for Alex and the Brainasium testers (most of whom just started shaving),which leaves time for Alex to help Lilly with the house and to try and bag his new hot boss while continuing to work in secret developing his own game, called "Demonik." Things start to get tricky, though, once the cat's outta the bag about who Alex is really rooming with—that is until the gray ladies warm to Alex's friends at an after-work party, thanks to that special tea they found in his room. Who knew 80-somethings could be so at home with video geeks, a low-key dealer, an African tribesman and a smattering of strippers, along with their colorful clientele? Amazing what a few tokes and tequila slammers will do to loosen things up. But when jealous nerdboy J.P. swipes Alex's "Demonik" and tries to pass it off as his own, it becomes a battle of Gen-Xers versus gin players when Samantha produces a secret weapon: Alex's grandma (and now master gamer) Lilly