Ryan Reynolds Jokes His Parents Were 'Absolute Failures' for Letting Him See R-Rated Movies as a Kid

Ryan Reynolds got in on rated-R movies early.

The 45-year-old actor may be known for raunchier fare like Deadpool, but his latest movie The Adam Project is for children and adults alike. Reynolds said the time-travel action flick harkens back to the 1980s movies he enjoyed watching with his late dad James.

"There's, like, real spectacle-driven wish fulfillment. Something I love about '80s Amblin movies like E.T. and Back to the Future, even Stand By Me, those kinds of movies that are steeped in nostalgia for us," he said on the Today show Monday.

He added that the film is "engineered to audience delight."

"I don't wanna make movies that contribute to any of the weight people are already carrying around, certainly in the last few years," said Reynolds. "These movies remind me of when I was a kid and I would watch these movies with my dad, like Back to the Future, and we would both think it was the coolest movie we'd ever seen. They don't bifurcate the audience; they really hit both kids and adults in equal measure."

Later, Reynolds joked that his three kids — daughters James, 7, Inez, 5, and Betty, 2, with wife Blake Lively — are "like me, when I was a kid I used to watch all the movies you weren't supposed to watch."

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"I keep coming home, I'm like, 'What— why is this on?!' " he joked. "The first rated-R movie I ever saw was Stand By Me. When you think back you're like, 'How was that rated R?' It was a rated-R movie, so I was blown away. I saw Dune, which I know I shouldn't have seen, at like 5, which is just completely—."

"Where were your parents?" asked co-host Savannah Guthrie, to which Reynolds, who grew up with three older brothers, joked, "They were nightmares. Absolute failures as parents. That's parenting fail 101."

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Last month, Reynolds told PEOPLE that he is still a "ball of nerves" like his 12-year-old self.

"I hide it well when I perform and when I walk out on talk shows, fancy events and stuff, but no, on the inside I'm in a silent shriek," he said.

Like in his new movie, what would he say to his younger self if he could? "All kinds of terrible things are going to happen. All kinds of great things are going to happen. It's all the weird, wacky, funky recipe that makes up life," said Reynolds. "So, you know, keep on keepin' on, kid. Just keep your chin up. You'll be fine."

The Adam Project debuts on Netflix Friday.