Comedian Bill Burr has carved an unflinching “get off my lawn” place in the standup business with Rolling Stone ranking him No. 17 on its list of the “50 Best Stand Up Comics of All Time.”
Now, he makes his directorial debut in the R-rated comedy “Old Dads,” a title that’s a bit misleading considering where the plot ultimately goes, but which is still funny enough to premiere as the No. 1 movie on Netflix.
Set in modern-day Los Angeles, the story follows three longtime best friends, Jack Kelly (Burr), Connor Brody (Bobby Cannavale) and Mike Richards (Bokeem Woodbine), who become fathers later in life for various reasons. Suddenly, the men find themselves battling the rapidly changing world of 21st-century parenting, including strict preschool principals, cocky millennial CEOs and, as the tagline reads, basically anything created after 1987.
This isn’t Burr’s first time branching outside of his acclaimed TV standup comedy specials. He recently created the Netflix animated sitcom “F is for Family” (2015-2021), in which he voiced the main character, not to mention live-action roles on “Chappelle’s Show” (2004), “Breaking Bad” (2011-2013) and “The Mandalorian” (2019-2020). On the big screen, he recently joined Pete Davidson in the Judd Apatow comedy “The King of Staten Island” (2020).
In “Old Dads,” Burr is as cranky as ever, dialing up his temper in need of anger management. He also forms a believable bromance trio with Woodbine, who earned an Emmy nomination for TV’s “Fargo” (2015) before blockbuster success in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017), and Cannavale, who won Emmys for “Will & Grace” (2004-2006) and “Boardwalk Empire” (2012), along with two more nominations for “Nurse Jackie” (2012-2013).
Cannavale steals the show here, delivering funny lines despite his controlling wife Cara (Jackie Tohn, “GLOW”), who lets their son get away with egregiously bratty behavior. Woodbine brags that his ex-wife gets along with his new girlfriend Britney (Reign Edwards, “The Bold & The Beautiful”), while Burr’s on-screen wife Leah (Katie Aselton, “The League”) is the most down to earth, but even she has limits to her husband’s man-child outbursts.
Rounding out the cast is Rachael Harris (“Lucifer”) as the easily-offended preschool principal who makes Burr apologize to the sensitive parents; Miles Robbins (son of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon) as the millennial CEO “liberating” the older workforce by laying them off; and Bruce Dern (“Nebraska”) as a crotchety ride-share driver that gives Burr an epiphany about his potential future if he doesn’t make some changes and seek therapy.
While the performances are gold, the title “Old Dads” is a misnomer, making us think that it’s going to be about fathers who start at an older age. Instead, the script rarely shows the men interacting with their kids as Burr’s wife is pregnant with their second child and Woodbine deals with a vasectomy. If you’re a first-time middle-aged parent looking for advice — or cathartic laughs — there’s surprisingly little regarding the “promise of the premise.”
It’s an untapped audience as many adults born in the ’80s and ’90s are waiting until after college or graduate school to get married, delaying parenthood until their 30s and 40s due to 9/11, the Great Recession, housing bubble, student loans and COVID-19 pandemic. The film could have found laughs from old dads with aching knees mustering the strength to change diapers, coach Little League and camp in tents, sighing: “I’m too old for this.”
As written, it might as well be called “Old Guys,” as it’s mostly Gen X waging broad societal complaints about Gen Z. Watching immature dudes refusing to grow up can still be funny — see “Old School” (2003), “Knocked Up” (2007) and “The Hangover” (2009) — but by the time Burr and his buddies hit a strip club for the “all is lost” moment, it’s clear the film is comfortable traveling tried-and-true plot points rather than staking new ground.
All that said, the movie is still pretty damn funny. If you like Bill Maher ranting about “PC” culture, you’ll love this movie. If you’re tired of folks labeling everything “woke,” you might roll your eyes at times. Either way, it’s Bill Burr, so there’s bound to be some great bits in here, including an awkward car ride with a white guy scared to sing N.W.A. Best of all is a “Braveheart” spoof that made me laugh out loud. I won’t spoil the punchline. Just enjoy.
