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Don\u2019t get your hopes up: This is not a documentary about Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Mick Jagger. \u201cOld Dads\u201d is the feature directorial debut of Bill Burr, a popular 50-something comedian with a shaved head and a light beard who plays Jack, who came to fatherhood late.<\/p>\n
Jack narrates in a voice not unlike that of Burr\u2019s standup persona, responding to the issues that confound the contemporary straight white male with profane non-sequiturs. Jack muses that he can\u2019t leave his child in the car to pop into a convenience store, but that said store is free to sell hormone-packed junk foods, and that nobody cares because they\u2019re addicted to internet pornography. I\u2019m paraphrasing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
As is customary in today\u2019s Guy Comedies, Jack is part of a trio \u2014 with Bokeem Woodbine and Bobby Cannavale, who play his business partners, Mike and Conner. They\u2019ve just sold their successful concern to an unctuous young start-up bro (Miles Robbins) whose \u201cdisrupter\u201d shtick provides fodder for more modern-life-is-rubbish humor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The movie emphasizes Jack\u2019s near-constant indignation about adult scooter riders and parking as much as it does his parenting concerns. Jack and his wife, Leah, are currently worried that their son might not get a proper kindergarten recommendation. As such, Jack locks horns with a principal (Rachael Harris) who, like many of the parents who surround Jack and Leah, is a parody of both 1980s-style New Age bromide-spouters and insipid practitioners of today\u2019s \u201cwoke\u201d philosophies.<\/p>\n
Many scenes are predicated on Jack\u2019s eye-rolling, then shouty reactions to phrases like \u201cinclusive adjacent\u201d or \u201ccheck your privilege.\u201d Burr is skilled at this, for sure. And Woodbine and Cannavale, who are better actors overall, slide into Burr\u2019s mode with ease. The results will prove satisfactory and maybe cathartic for his fans.<\/p>\n
Old Dads<\/strong>
Rated R for language themes, nudity, more language. Running time: 1 hour 44 minutes. Watch on Netflix.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n