Old Dads

3 outta 5

Co-written, directed and starring Bill Burr, Old Dads seems to be about as deep a dive into Burr’s worldview as one could get. It is repeatedly claiming modern society is a bunch of weak wristed folks and only the sage-like wisdom of a bitter Generation X’er can say the truth. Admittedly, Old Dads comes up with a few funny variations on this theme. Also, the three leads bounce off each other for consistent yuks. Although the condescending attitude from Burr’s character gets fairly exhausting, feeling a little like being yelled at for an hour and forty minutes. The title of the film may be a bit misleading as Old Dads implies the film is about their issues with their kids but them being fathers is just a minor point, it’s more about how these guys can’t reconcile their older worldview with a modern lifestyle. It’s hard to feel much sympathy for a man this angry, though.

Jack Kelly (Burr) is a new dad and awaiting a second child with his pregnant wife, Leah (Katie Aselton). He works at a vintage shirt company with his two buddies, Connor (Bobby Cannavale) and Mike (Bokeem Woodbine). Having sold the company, they are now employees for the young and woke, Aspen (Miles Robbins) who wants to transform this little company into something better. Jack is also putting his kid through private school and butting heads against the domineering administrator, Doctor Lois Schmieckel-Turner (Rachael Harris). But Jack’s “old school” ways of talking about society consistently offends just about everyone, and gets him into trouble at school, home and work. Meanwhile, his buddies are dealing with personal problems as well, leaving three aging dads stuck alone in a world they don’t understand.

It is a bit difficult to watch the film and not sort of feel like you’re watching a didactic screed from Burr shouted directly in your face. However, Burr still manages to make some bits funny, like when someone talks down to him about how he is supposed to manage his child, Jack rips into the guy. Also in a funny rant moment, Jack is hollering at a guy on a scooter ahead of him, and yells at two people on the sidewalk wanting them to agree with his ranting statements. The hatred he has for scooters is a symptom of the various easy gags about the “modern world” that are peppered throughout the film. It is a bit weird that the film expects the audience to agree with every one of these statements, although the script does point out that Jack is way too angry for his own good. There is even a break-up moment when, after being publicly embarrassed by her husband, Leah demands that he leaves the house, but it feels more like a mandatory mid-movie breakup. This does lead to a funny bit when Jack is staying at a motel and gets into an argument with the owner about smoking vs. vaping or hotel vs. motel with the owner being played by the always reliably snarky Paul Walter Hauser.

Jack isn’t the only one going through issues as his buddies are thoroughly messed up as well. Mike is dating a younger woman and, even though he’s had a vasectomy he still managed to get her pregnant. His buddies try to look at the situation in a positive light, saying that he actually has super-sperm. Woodbine as Mike has some pretty funny bits, like when he confronts someone about singing along to rap lyrics. Mike gets more gonzo as things go on, ending up at a strip club trying to escape his old life, saying simply, “I live here now”. The strip club scenes are pretty funny, even when Jack is getting a lap dance, he keeps whining about how much he wants to be a good husband. Cannavale as Connor is probably the most unhinged. In the office, he tries to be cool to the younger employees and failing miserably. He ends up going on a drug binge, falling into cocaine and paranoia. Cannavale is great at the little crazy asides as a guy who doesn’t want to accept he isn’t as cool as he thinks he is.

The “bad guys” in the movies are basically anyone in a position of power who has a different worldview. Robbins as the boss is amusingly over the top, speaking with modern business-speak buzzwords that just aggravates Jack and his buddies. There’s also a moment when Aspen is down on his luck and confronted by the guys that is amusingly mean. As the school administrator, Harris’ condescending character makes for a good antagonist. There’s a moment when Jack must confront her in front of the whole school about a perceived transgression and it features references about toxic behaviour that fly over Jack’s head. Aselton as the wife gets to point out how crazy Jack is, at least the movie presents her objections as reasonable instead of being a cliché overbearing nag like Connor’s wife is portrayed as.

Old Dads isn’t a consistently hilarious movie, and a lot of it just seems like a mouthpiece for Burr getting annoyed at modern sensibilities. But there are bits when things click comedically. This makes for a mildly amusing watch consisting of 50 something guys acting cranky, which is good enough.