‘Old Dads Review: Bill Burrs Serviceable, Shticky Netflix Comedy Is One For The Fans

Bill Barr doesn't go too far on the acting front in his new film, which he wrote, produced and directed. The comedian who makes WC Fields seem like an advocate for tolerance plays a (hopefully) exaggerated version of himself in The Old Man , about three middle-aged men who encounter a politically correct society with ties to an old-school dinosaur farm.

The Netflix premiere is predictable in every way, but Burr's well-crafted comedic antics and witty lies make it especially popular with older men, especially those with plenty of beer and pizza on hand.

The film follows best friends and business partners Jack (Barr), Connor (Bobby Cannavale) and Mike (Bokim Woodbine), inspired by Barr and co-writer Ben Tischler's experience of becoming parents later in life. The three find themselves after selling their vintage sports jersey company to Aspen (Miles Robbins), a self-proclaimed millennial "buster" whose first mission is to kill all of the company's employees born before 1988. to dismiss

The three friends also have personal problems. Jack (51), a first-time father at 46, is married to Leah (Kathy Aselton), who is now pregnant with their second child. Connor's young son has serious emotional control issues thanks to his overbearing wife (Jackie Toon). And Mike meets Brittany (Rain Edwards), decades his junior, who claims she's pregnant despite having a vasectomy. Jack and Connor try to comfort her by praising her bravery, "That's an underrated bravery."

This line shows the film's overall level of humor as the three men engage in a heated discussion about former First Lady Barbara Bush and pop singer Samantha Fox.

Jack is the famous bull of a pot shop who can't leave the house without being disturbed by modern phenomena like electric scooter riders and honest steam. For that matter, don't embarrass her on social media, where she has a full arsenal of insults, and she has no problem deliberately kicking a boy and telling her daughter's obnoxious preschool principal (Rachel-Harris) that she's "stupid Katie."

Grandpa is hilarious, plus they make a lot of jokes about the culture clash between the younger and older generations (I especially enjoyed Jack's angry "Generation X!" response to an "OK Boomer" joke). ) but this is impossible when they attempt more ambitious plot elements, such as when his friends try to hire a specialist to become the company's new "brand ambassador" (C. Thomas Howell, role-playing is more fun than permission) or their politics after secretly making false accusations "for moral reasons" ” They were fired.

Some scenes are so routine that they seem to have come from some algorithm, such as the obligatory trip to a strip club, which allows the women to show their nudity. Or when Jack tries to rush to the hospital before his wife gives birth, aided by a grumpy older Uber driver (Bruce Dern, now in Walter Brennan's career), the inevitable moment when he jokes that he was just kidding. Barr was drinking beer and eating fried clams when his son was born.

If you like Burr's stand-up style (and since he regularly sells out pitches, it's clear that a lot of people do), you'll love Old Dads , which features Cannavale's humorous atmospheric responses, Woodbine's strong absurdity, and some very funny . . Rounded out by various comedians in small roles. The film perfectly translates the man's comedic personality into cinematic terms and can serve as a prelude to his live show.