OLD DADS - Mark Reviews Movies

Old Dads, Netflix

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Review by Mark Dujsik | October 20, 2023

Unlike certain movies meant to start the leading-role career of a particular stand-up comedian, Old Dads doesn't feel like a string of jokes from the comic's routine shoved into an excuse of a story. Plus, Bill Burr, who co-wrote and directed his debut as a leading man, seems at ease in his role as Jack, a 51-year-old man about to have his second child—after having his first five years prior.

Obviously, some of this story and character have to be autobiographical to some degree, since comedians are often most comfortable finding the humor in what they know—just as writers are typically told to write what they know for good reason. If that is the case, Burr and Ben Tishler's screenplay is admirable for the level of self-reflection it provides for this man, who is used to doing and saying things in a certain way, uncomfortable with the changes he sees around him, and angry about the fact that he can't keep up with them.

Of course, this means that Jack can be a jerk—getting mad at relatively minor annoyances, making off-color jokes about people and subjects that have become taboo in the modern world, calling the principal of his son's school a particularly nasty word in front of shocked parents and confused kids. Some filmmakers would want us to admire such a guy for pushing the boundaries of what's acceptable to say in polite society and just being himself without the fear of being criticized. Burr, though, portrays the character, both as an actor and as a filmmaker, as someone who wants to be a better person but simply doesn't know what that even means nowadays.

The problem with this movie, then, isn't Jack. It's that the screenplay doesn't quite trust that his shift—from ignorance about the world and himself to at least understanding that he might the issue when it comes to how other people see him and how he reacts—is enough for this particular story. Everything becomes bogged down by trying to make this comedic character study into an ensemble piece, to tackle a bunch of people and topics that Jack finds confusing and/or irritating, and to force formulaic plotting and situations into material that's probably strong enough to stand on its own.

As the title suggests, Jack isn't the only "old dad" in this story. There are also his two best friends, Connor (Bobby Cannavale) and Mike (Bokeem Woodbine), who are about Jack's age. Like Jack, Connor is a new-ish father, and while Mike had a pair of children at a younger age, his plans to have a commitment-free and child-less relationship with a new romantic partner come to a surprising end.

Connor is obsessed with looking younger than he is and having marital problems with his wife Cara (Jackie Tohn), who doesn't communicate as well as he'd like. Mike's girlfriend Britney (Reign Edwards) announces she's pregnant, despite his multiple precautions and leading him to a spend-happy crisis. Jack's relationship with his pregnant wife Leah (Katie Aselton) seems happy, but his tendency to become enraged by any setback isn't as charming to her when they're about to be raising two kids.

The script is quite busy, even without its other story elements—including the grudge Jack starts with his son's principal (played by Rachael Harris), a committee to have a fundraiser for the school, and another subplot about the company the three men started being taken over by a hipster CEO (played by Miles Robbins). Those other points mainly allow Jack to joke and rail about what he sees as cultural over-sensitivity, and if there's anything here that comes across as Burr simply transferring his stand-up act to the story, it's definitely here. He has the right attitude for the material, at least—more genuinely confused than cruel and self-deprecating enough to prevent him from seeming mean-spirited.

The character's an intriguing one, to be sure, but for whatever reason, Burr and Tishler offer up so much surrounding him that it starts to feel like an unnecessary distraction. As solid and funny as Cannavale and Woodbine are here, their characters are increasingly out of place as the focus narrows to Jack's anger issues and the consequences of letting them go unchecked.

Those two characters, as well as their relationships with their respective significant others, aren't nearly as detailed or considered as Jack, with both of them mostly becoming fodder for jokes (Mike starts buying a lot of things to prove he still has control of his life, and Connor turns to fearful cowering). The same, as should probably be expected, goes for the story's women, who mostly exist as meters to gauge how much the men are or aren't improving themselves.

Such critiques are necessary, if only because Burr and Tishler invite them by loading the movie with so many characters, ideas, and story threads, only to lose track of what potential purpose they might serve. Old Dads is at its best when it highlights Jack's evolution and Burr's humor, and as for the rest of the movie, it's simply too much interference too often.

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