Within the many (and I mean many) generational observations within Old Dads, there’s somewhat of a three-act sitcom-like story about aging within a rapidly changing world where the norms and modes previously tolerated have changed. One character has to be dragged kicking and screaming upon realization – offending many and getting every gripe about it off his chest every such way. If you stay the same way, you appear stubborn, but courageous to a specific set of people who yearn for the days when everybody didn’t walk on pins and needles. But if you change, then you’re just bowing down to the supposed cancel culture mantra.
Bill Burr attempts to show he’s a capable frontman by looking through all those parameters. Still, Old Dads mostly feel like a “get off my lawn” exercise to put every single uncomfortable scenario under the microscope of scorn. Jack (Burr) is 46 with a seven-year-old son and another kid on the way. He’s anxious about having children at an older age, and his wife Leah (Katie Aselton) chalks it up to him having an unhappy childhood. In the opening monologue, Jack’s inner speech gives up the game. He’s mad he can’t leave his kid in the car running into a convenience store while the same store sells them food full of hormones – all the while, he takes a small shot at vegans for possibly being overly sensitive.
It’s not only Jack going through a somewhat mid-life crisis, either. Two of his longtime friends, Connor (Bobby Cannavale) and Mike (Bokeem Woodbine), have their things to handle. When it comes to aging, Connor is strictly against acknowledging any of it. He even tries to keep up with slang and music artists like Lil Baby for some cringeworthy discussions with the youth. Mike is divorced, his kids go to good colleges, and he’s dating a younger woman named Britney (Reign Edwards). He says she doesn’t want to get married or any conventional stuff. Thus, there’s no pressure to change things until something happens later in the film.
When it comes to character development, Jack is the person who seems to get the most focus from Burr and co-writer Ben Tishler, whereas the inclusion of Connor and Mike is there to move things along, getting back to the center of Jack’s plight. These three men started a throwback jersey company named Trifecta Classics, but agreed to sell it (mainly because Jack has to afford private school). After completing that sale, they meet their new boss, Aspen (Miles Robbins), a 28-year-old previously in charge of 15 different startups who wants to change the business to cater to lifestyle while being gender and carbon-neutral.
The culture shift and changing the meaning of fired to “liberate” shock these three men. At some points, Old Dads dive into the ramifications of being in a strange new world of scooters on the road and different terms meaning things to other people. Specifically, Jack duels with the private school principal, Dr. Lois (Rachael Harris), as a foil because his wife Leah stresses she has a considerable pull on determining where their son goes next for school. As Jack says the C-word and is brought to the families of the school for a berating session for being one minute late to pick up his son, there’s a constant feeling that he can’t help but be this untethered, counterculture-tell-it-like-it-is person.
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Old Dads wants you to believe Jack is reasoning with the potential damage of what sticking to your guns can do, but so many set pieces chop up that notion for the sake of being there. With the new company mantra, Aspen pitches a blah slogan to pitch “not wanting to be famous” as the latest trend. With that, the three men are tasked to get a man living off the grid who gets found by some unethical data mining services. On their travels, they must take Travis (Justin Miles), Aspen’s second-in-command, and the clash between generations meets in the long car ride. Travis claims the men engage in misogyny, discussing actresses they’d like to sleep with. In turn, Mike interrogates Travis about saying the n-word while he listens to rap. It’s a random assortment of gotcha, one-up moments that would probably work in a Bill Burr comedy set – not so much a film that hints at growth.
The world can be scary when it feels like it’s leaving you behind. Burr wants to channel that feeling and, in a small scene with an Uber driver older than him, speaks loudly about what he’s trying to convey. What’s considered fun and acceptable may not be anyone, so where do I fit in? A storyline includes Connor’s wife, Cara (Jackie Tohn), yelling at him for not respecting their son’s autonomy because he wanted him to apologize; things feel included to have something to shake a fist at.
