Three best friends become fathers later in life and find themselves battling preschool principals, millennial CEOs, and anything created after 1987.Three best friends become fathers later in life and find themselves battling preschool principals, millennial CEOs, and anything created after 1987.Three best friends become fathers later in life and find themselves battling preschool principals, millennial CEOs, and anything created after 1987.
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Old Dads is essentially a snapshot of Bill Burr's longstanding stand up routines so there aren't many surprises for the viewer.
So as a result your like or dislike of the movie will basically hinge on your opinion of Burr himself.
Its a softer representation of his material, I guess in an attempt to widen the audience and it does work from that perspective.
Its also very much a case of the older you are the more I think you will like the movie. Old Dads is full of generational jokes, pitting those who had to walk 5 miles in the snow to get to school vs the modern 'snowflakes'.
Its funny enought to get you by :)
So as a result your like or dislike of the movie will basically hinge on your opinion of Burr himself.
Its a softer representation of his material, I guess in an attempt to widen the audience and it does work from that perspective.
Its also very much a case of the older you are the more I think you will like the movie. Old Dads is full of generational jokes, pitting those who had to walk 5 miles in the snow to get to school vs the modern 'snowflakes'.
Its funny enought to get you by :)
Old Dads is at its best when it's closest to Bill Burr's stand up. A mixture of him just complaining about everything and his fear of passing his untamed anger onto his children. It struggles a lot more when it turns those complaints into people and is very rushed in its resolution but remains a fun watch overall.
Bill Burr himself is a good lead, funny yet flawed with some pretty vulnerable moments. Bokeem Woodbine works really well as the calmest of the three and Bobby Cannavale is so entertaining in this completely over the top performance. He's obsessed with being seen as cool and it leads to some of the best moments.
Bill Burr's direction is fine. As a debut there's always added pressure to bring something extra to announce yourself and whilst Burr doesn't do that it remains technically competent and his writing and performance combined make up for the journeyman filmmaking on display.
Bill Burr himself is a good lead, funny yet flawed with some pretty vulnerable moments. Bokeem Woodbine works really well as the calmest of the three and Bobby Cannavale is so entertaining in this completely over the top performance. He's obsessed with being seen as cool and it leads to some of the best moments.
Bill Burr's direction is fine. As a debut there's always added pressure to bring something extra to announce yourself and whilst Burr doesn't do that it remains technically competent and his writing and performance combined make up for the journeyman filmmaking on display.
The funniest humour is humour that tells it like it is. Jack's confrontations with his kids' school staff and other parents, and their outragous militant "faux sensitive" attacks, are painful to watch because we live with them in real life. Every one of them has a ridiculous shield of political correctness up around them, and they use it as a weapon, thus completely undermining how "sensitive" they claim to be. Jack calls them out on it, saying at one point, "All you care about is not getting in trouble". The obnoxious 20-something who takes over their company is exactly the tiresome, lazy arrogant twit we all dread as a new boss - has never gotten his hands dirty, never worked a day in his life, has been taught by his mommy that he's "special" so he can treat people like dirt. Unfortunately, about 2/3 of the way through, Jack's "epiphany" ruins the whole thing. His wife shuts him out because he has "anger" problems. No he doesn't. He doesn't hit people, wreck property, throw people out of their jobs, sit on his behind while others do all the work, or torture his schoolmates or coworkers with holier-than-though attitude. He calls people names somertimes, and he yells sometimes. That's about it. Otherwise, he's the most honest, hard-working, fair person in the whole story. It's sad that the movie goes south by having him "change" to become a gutted namby pamby shell of his real self. That is a HORRIBLE thing, but it is presented in the film as though he has reached some successful peak.
It had some funny moments, but I found myself being more frustrated than anything. I guess the emasculation of men is supposed to be funny? The men do nothing wrong and the women are absolutely insufferable, but everything is the men's fault. I can't believe this wasn't written by a woman. I feel like this movie missed an opportunity to make a real statement by going in the direction they chose. In the end the only statement made is that men are terrible and it's acceptable to treat them as such.
Outside of those issues, I feel like it was a well made movie. The acting was good, in particular Bobby Cannavale who I usually do not care for.
Outside of those issues, I feel like it was a well made movie. The acting was good, in particular Bobby Cannavale who I usually do not care for.
I suspect this film will get some bad reviews, particularly if you aren't familiar with Bill Burr's stand up or you find his style of comedy a bit much (Michael McIntyre he's not). Personally I'm a big fan of Bill and the character he plays in this film is pretty much the one you get in his stand up shows.
The movie was written by Bill and that's evident straight from the start with the dialogue very much in his style and in line with his stand up contains several amusing scenes with middle aged men trying to understand the world of woke. However I felt the film lost some pacing and ran out of steam a little in the second half, as Bill's character makes the transition into something more acceptable to modern society.
Worth a watch if you like Bill. If you don't then maybe not.
The movie was written by Bill and that's evident straight from the start with the dialogue very much in his style and in line with his stand up contains several amusing scenes with middle aged men trying to understand the world of woke. However I felt the film lost some pacing and ran out of steam a little in the second half, as Bill's character makes the transition into something more acceptable to modern society.
Worth a watch if you like Bill. If you don't then maybe not.
Did you know
- TriviaBill Burr's real-life wife Nia Renee Hill portrays the nurse in the maternity ward.
- GoofsJust before they meet Ed Cameron they hit an armadillo with the rental car. Ed Cameron lives in New Mexico and they are driving from California, yet there are no wild armadillos in California, Arizona, or New Mexico.
- Quotes
Cara Brody: You think I'm cold?
Connor Brody: Babe, when you open your legs, I can actually hear the East German national anthem
- ConnectionsReferences Miami Vice (1984)
- SoundtracksYou've Got Another Thing Coming
Written by Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford (as Robert Halford), K.K. Downing (as Kenneth Downing)
Performed by Judas Priest
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Papás a la antigua
- Filming locations
- 18500 block, San Jose St at Reseda Blvd, Northridge, California, USA(Jack turns off Reseda to follow superannuated scooter rider down San Jose)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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