The Reel Review
Three late-in-life fathers – all best friends and business partners – try to navigate evolving parenting techniques in an increasingly politically correct world, in this Netflix comedy starring, co-written by and directed by standup comedian Bill Burr.
Old Dads starts off well enough, when Burr’s Jack, following a profanity-laden dust-up with his son’s pretentious and heavy-handed kindergarten principal, is forced to stifle his frustration with her ridiculousness in the hope of scoring a good recommendation for his son’s private school application. There are some truly hysterical one-liners and funny scenarios in the first half of this fish-out-of-water comedy that co-stars Katie Aselton, Bobby Cannavale, Bokeem Woodbine and a slew of cameo appearances.
What follows, however, is a really bad mashup of Bad Moms and The Hangover, but without any of the charm or cleverness of those two much better comedies. Almost none of the characters in this angry straight white man comedy are likable or even remotely sympathetic. Burr’s directorial debut feels like a cringeworthy string of missed opportunities that never quite gels as a story, despite a handful of big laughs.
REEL FACTS
• Bill Burr is best known for the Netflix animated sitcom F is for Family, which he created co-wrote and voiced the lead character, as well as roles in AMC’s Breaking Bad, Disney+’s The Mandalorian and the film The King of Staten Island. He is married to Nia Renee Hill, who appears in Old Dads as the maternity ward nurse.
• Actress Katie Aselton (The League, The Unholy) was Miss Maine Teen USA in 1995 and first runner-up at Miss Teen USA 1995. She is married to actor/writer Mark Duplass (The Morning Show). They have two daughters.
• Two-time Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, Will & Grace) has been in a relationship with Rose Byrne since 2012. They have two sons.
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