Old Dads

A refreshingly unapologetic and on point observational comedy.

I sat there thinking why havnt I seen anything like this in years.

Well reading some other reviews I got my answer, yell and cry load enough and you get what you want. If what you want is boring paint by numbers PC appease everyone crap.

I'm thankful to say this is not that.

It does at some points push a little to far with Bobby's I used to be cool narrative.

My wife and I both sat there saying wow this is so true. We need more comedy's that are not afraid to by funny, there is a reason all the comedy's you love and remember we're not made in the last decade.

The most amusing humor is the one that reflects reality. Jack's interactions with the school staff and other parents, and their exaggeratedly militant "faux sensitive" responses, are difficult to watch because they mirror real-life situations. Each of them hides behind a shield of political correctness, using it as a weapon, which contradicts their claimed "sensitivity." Jack confronts them, stating at one point, "All you care about is not getting in trouble." The obnoxious 20-something who takes over their company embodies the tiresome, lazy, and arrogant boss we all fear - he has never worked hard, relying on his sense of being "special" to mistreat others. Unfortunately, Jack's "epiphany" about two-thirds of the way through spoils the entire story. His wife shuts him out, citing his "anger" issues. But he doesn't have anger issues. He doesn't physically harm anyone, damage property, unjustly dismiss people from their jobs, avoid work while others labor, or torment his peers or colleagues with a superior attitude. Occasionally, he may call people names and raise his voice. That's about it. Otherwise, he is the most honest, hard-working, and fair person in the entire narrative. It's disheartening that the movie takes a downturn by depicting his "transformation" into a diluted, weak version of himself. This is a TERRIBLE outcome, yet the film portrays it as if he has achieved some kind of successful peak.

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.

Let me start by saying that there is a definite trigger warning if you are a man in the male cast members age group. There is plenty of realism here with how women treat men especially in relation to the children. The plot is simple and pretty predictable but the men in this film took more mess than they deserved. There was really no apology or remorse from the offenders. As I said I guess it's realistic and very sad for older men. The whole scene with the children's private school and the head of the school was absolutely disgusting. The fact that the females turn on their men so quickly is just a sad thing to see. My hope is that women watching this movie will open their eyes and see how damaging their words can be and realize that..even though as a mother your child is a top priority.. you can easily push the man away at the same time.

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.