Old Dads

I loved it. I haven't laughed like that in ages. Some of Jack's retorts are painful-cringe-funny. Especially when he insults Rachael Harris' character (Dr. Lois Schmieckel-Turner). At one point, I was screaming at my screen "just elbow her in the face". Speaking on behalf of all sensible women: we would have forgiven you.

You know Burr is quoting from life with a lot of these interactions, and he's right to highlight the absurdity of some behaviours, but I absolutely loved that he also showed the progress we've made as a society.

When the men are having their toxic conversations in the car and Travis (Justin Miles) breezily and confidently calls the friends out for it, I was very happy because media is a great way to normalise these types of conversations between men. I also liked that Jack pointed out it was a private conversation and people are entitled to privacy.

There was never a lull, I didn't feel the need to check my phone, and the pace was sharp. I actually forgot I was watching Bill Burr after only a few scenes. He's a genuinely good actor and fit in very well with the rest of the cast. They all had great chemistry as friends - Mike and Connor (Bokeem Woodbine and Bobby Cannavale) were the perfect combination with Jack (Burr). Mike in particular did some fine acting as a man having a bit of a mental breakdown, and Bobby has perfect comedic timing, as always. Absolute natural.

Justin Miles as Travis gets two of some of the most memorable laugh out loud scenes: one with Mike (Woodbine) in the car. Genuinely think I startled my neighbours with my cackling at that scene.

Other mentions are the actresses portraying Leah, Britney and Cara (Katie Aselton, Reign Edwards, Jackie Tohn). It makes all the difference when your actors can.. erm.. act(!) I really felt Leah's frustration and empathised with her even through just a handful of scenes. Britney had even less screen time (and her Beyoncé level of beauty was frankly, distracting..!) but she was effortless and likeable. Cara was hilarious!! Somehow, she was written to be infuriating and endearing simultaneously. She has a habit at the beginning that had me rooting for someone to punch her in the face!

I liked the ending. It didn't feel forced and because I follow Burr, and have watched films before, I knew what to expect. What makes this film great isn't the originality. Is that a thing anymore, anyway? It's the writing, the acting, the fact that you're invested, and the realistic outcomes. I particularly loved the very final scene(s). They summed up the film really well. I took away from this that we can all meet somewhere in the middle.

It's 9/10 for me.

Old Dads is essentially a snapshot of Bill Burr's longstanding stand up routines so there aren't many surprises for the viewer.

So as a result your like or dislike of the movie will basically hinge on your opinion of Burr himself.

Its a softer representation of his material, I guess in an attempt to widen the audience and it does work from that perspective.

Its also very much a case of the older you are the more I think you will like the movie. Old Dads is full of generational jokes, pitting those who had to walk 5 miles in the snow to get to school vs the modern 'snowflakes'.

Its funny enought to get you by :)

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.

Old Dads is at its best when it's closest to Bill Burr's stand up. A mixture of him just complaining about everything and his fear of passing his untamed anger onto his children. It struggles a lot more when it turns those complaints into people and is very rushed in its resolution but remains a fun watch overall.

Bill Burr himself is a good lead, funny yet flawed with some pretty vulnerable moments. Bokeem Woodbine works really well as the calmest of the three and Bobby Cannavale is so entertaining in this completely over the top performance. He's obsessed with being seen as cool and it leads to some of the best moments.

Bill Burr's direction is fine. As a debut there's always added pressure to bring something extra to announce yourself and whilst Burr doesn't do that it remains technically competent and his writing and performance combined make up for the journeyman filmmaking on display.

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.