Comedian Bill Burr’s directorial debut Old Dads is being called a must-watch by comedy fans.
Having dropped on Netflix on 20 October, the movie sees the 55-year-old US comic play the part of an old dad – similar to the actor in real life – called Jack who takes issue with the wokeness of the world, much like Burr does in his stand-up routines.
Like Doug in The Hangover, thankfully Jack has his trusty mates at hand (played by Bobby Cannavale and Bokeem Woodbine) to help him navigate parenthood.
But Jack’s brand of parenting doesn’t go down well with everyone, like the prissy principal at his son’s private school or his millennial tech boss.
Both Jack’s boss and his wife (the latter played by Katie Aselton) want him to seek professional help for his anger issues. Naturally, he refuses.
“When a middle-aged father and his two best friends sell their company to a millennial, they soon find themselves out of step and behind the times as they struggle to navigate a changing world of culture, career and fatherhood,” the synopsis for Old Dads reads.
Old Dads trailer
Old Dads has been for the most part panned by reviewers, receiving a 22% Rotten Tomatoes critics score.
Todd McCarthy at Deadline wrote: “A boorish and obnoxiously vulgar comedy that, since it can’t claim any other great distinction, might well have been expressly written to break the all-time record for use of the f-word in the major studio movie.”
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times, meanwhile, added: "Given the unapologetic, sharp-edged tone of Burr’s comedy, it’s surprising that as director, co-writer and star of this vehicle, he played it so safe."
However, regular viewers seem to have responded more positively to Old Dads, with the film also receiving an 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
And on the Facebook movie fan page Netflix Bangers, people have reported finding the flick pretty funny.
“Old Dads funniest comedy I’ve seen in ages!” one user wrote.
A second added: “I like Bill Burr anyways… he says what he thinks. He wrote, directed, and produced it a lot of his comic buddies were in it as well.”
While a third remarked: “I love Bill Burr as a stand up comedian and basically his comedic routine comes out in this movie.
"I can relate since I’m in his age group and feel exactly the way he does with the woke culture.”
On Twitter, others were also complimentary, with one fan saying their “stomach hurts from laughing” so much.
You need to watch Old Dads on Netflix, my stomach hurts from laughing.
Gen X dad's raising kids in today's California-age society, you'll love it.
— CulinaryJedi???☠️? God fearing Human (@StevenTRobinso1) October 23, 2023
This was as one user remarked that they were surprised the film got past the "woke sensors".
Just watched Bill Burr Old Dad's on Netflix - can't believe it got past the woke sensors but made me laugh & we all need a laugh right now as it deals with changing times... Bring back the normality of the 80s please
Meanwhile, in a positive review from a critic, Anna Menta at Decider wrote:
"At first glance, Bill Burr’s Netflix movie, Old Dads... appears to be a movie for dads who want to 'raise a little man, and not a f*****g p***y.' It’s a movie for people who use 'snowflake' as an insult, who pride themselves for 'saying what everyone is thinking,' and who believe the ’80s are the greatest decade of all time. In other words, a movie for Bill Burr fans.
"But if you actually watch the film all the way to the end... buried beneath hackneyed jokes about gender neutral party themes and cancel culture, Burr has an important message for his aging male fanbase: Go to therapy."
Old Dads is streaming on Netflix right now.
