Netflix’s Old Dads is a smug and puerile attack on millennial life and ‘snowflakes’ — what is it for?

Netflix’s new No 1 film takes aim at millennial sensitivity through the eyes of Bill Burr’s middle-aged curmudgeon. ‘Old Dads’ aims for provocation, writes Louis Chilton, but ends up mired in distinctly unfunny self-righteousness

Hater familias: Bill Burr (right), Bokeem Woodbine (centre) and Bobby Cannavale (left) play three misanthropic fathers in ‘Old Dads’ (Michael Moriatis/Netflix)

Men will literally write, direct and star in their own Netflix comedy film instead of going to therapy. By “men”, I mean Bill Burr, the 55-year-old comedian whose angry curmudgeon persona has formed the basis of a robust three-decade stand-up career. And the new Netflix movie is Old Dads, a smug, lightweight comedy that sees Burr, Bobby Cannavale, 53, and Bokeem Woodbine, 50, play a trio of middle-aged fathers.

Except the film isn’t really about fatherhood at all. The kids barely feature; the majority of Old Dads’ runtime is simply an airing of intergenerational gripes – not between Burr’s character, Jack Kelly, and his own children, but between Jack and the millennials surrounding him. As the story begins, Jack and his two friends have been relegated to employees at their own company (what a metaphor!), having sold their thriving throwback jersey business to Aspen Bell, an insufferable millennial “disruptor” played by Miles Robbins. Aspen immediately shakes up the organisation, announcing that it will “pivot” to being a “gender-neutral, carbon-neutral, 21st-century lifestyle apparel brand”. Jack and co are nonplussed – so too are we supposed to be. It’s an inflated parody of millennial obnoxiousness that would have felt stale a decade ago. Old Dads has more straw men than an audition room for The Wizard of Oz.

Perhaps the most memorable scene comes early in the film, when Jack arrives at his son’s school late because he couldn’t get a parking space. The principal, played by Rachael Harris, chastises him for not reading the “school guidebook”. The argument escalates, as he tells her not to “dress me down in front of my kid”. He snaps: “Jesus Christ, I read the goddamn f***ing guidebook. Alright, you stumpy little c**t?” Naturally, this foul-mouthed faux pas goes down like a lead balloon: Jack is exposed as a social dinosaur, a politically incorrect relic forced to gorge on humble pie. It doesn’t end there, either – a little while later, Burr and his two cronies are sacked from their company after being filmed having a transphobic conversation about Caitlyn Jenner.

It would be oversimplifying to suggest that the film endorses this behaviour whole-heartedly: Burr’s character is a flawed, misanthropic individual, one whose arc in the film eventually sees him address his rage and seek therapy. But Old Dads looks to have its cake and smash someone in the face with it too. Even when Jack deploys the expletive, we are, on some level, invited to empathise with him, after the school principal takes every excuse to needle him. Later in the film, she is arrested for embezzlement. The victims of Burr’s ire are always hypocrites and irritants, exaggerated beyond plausibility; he’s rallying against a world that exists only in the fantasies of his own self-righteousness.

Netflix has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Burr; in addition to Old Dads, the streaming service has distributed a number of his stand-up specials, as well as the acclaimed animated series F Is for Family, a loosely autobiographical comedy in which Burr voices a rageful father-of-three in 1970s Boston. In his stand-up, Burr’s perpetually angry persona belies a considerable craft and verbal dexterity; the appeal is marred, however, by an undercurrent of misogyny. It is this current along which Old Dads swims: the film – currently sitting at No 1 in Netflix’s film charts – embraces all the worst aspects of Burr’s comic sensibility and fails to capture the best. Its dismal 18 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes is hardly surprising. It’s not just a matter of poor taste: Old Dads is simply not funny enough.

There is, however, something worthwhile in the rudiments of Burr’s premise. It’s true that fatherhood is too often conceived of as a younger person’s game; ageism permeates the parenting sphere as it does many other areas of life. But Old Dads isn’t interested in exploring this at all. It’s after cheap points – a kind of ego-rousing tête-à-tête with an insufferable caricature of a thirtysomething “snowflake”.

Dad tidings: Bobby Cannavale as Connor and Bokeem Woodbine as Mike in ‘Old Dads' (Michael Moriatis/Netflix)

At the end of the film, Jack is approached by one such character, who scolds him for throwing and catching a baseball while his baby is harnessed to his chest. At this point, Jack is calmer, wiser, and in therapy. He thanks the man for his advice, and limits himself to a lone expletive muttered out of earshot. Jack has risen above the need for petty provocation. Burr, it seems, still has a long way to go.

‘Old Dads’ is available to stream now on Netflix