Comedian Bill Burr makes his directorial debut in Old Dads, a movie about parenthood, friendship, and one man’s bad temper. (If you’re not familiar with Burr’s comedy specials, the comedian frequently jokes about his anger issues.) The movie follows three best friends who become dads later in life and have a hard time navigating a changing world — and letting go of the ’80s.
“I am an old dad. I was in kindergarten 50 years ago,” Burr said in a new featurette about the film, which you can watch above. “When I showed up everything was different. This movie is basically based on me and what I’m dealing with.”
The trailer for OId Dads shows an out-of-touch Burr who struggles to adapt to change. He doesn’t fit in with the younger parents at his son’s progressive preschool, and he and his best friends sell their company to a millennial CEO who radically changes the workplace culture overnight. Despite all these challenges, the one thing Burr cares about more than anything else is doing right by his family. “Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” he says, “but I’d do anything for my kid.”
Bill Burr plays Jack, a dad who struggles to fit in at his son’s progressive preschool, where the principal is constantly trying to provoke him. He can’t seem to get his temper under control and has an outburst in front of the other parents at school pickup time, insulting the principal (Rachael Harris), which results in an intervention. To complicate things further, he and his best friends are having a hard time adapting to a changing workplace culture after selling their company of 23 years to a millennial CEO (Miles Robbins) who wants to turn it into a “gender-neutral, carbon-neutral 21st-century lifestyle apparel brand.”
Jack’s repeated anger issues get him in enough trouble to put his relationship to the test. And his friends aren’t having the easiest time, either: Connor (Bobby Cannavale) can’t let go of his youth and tries way too hard to be cool; and Mike (Bokeem Woodbine), the most level-headed of the trio, goes through a crisis of his own when he finds out his much younger girlfriend is pregnant. As Jack and his friends try to navigate a generational divide and where they fit into the changing culture, they realize they just might have to get with the times — or at least compromise.
“Jack represents the part of me that’s trying to be a better person in the stubborn stupid way that I go about life,” Burr said.
Check it out below:
Along with Burr, the film stars Katie Aselton (Bombshell), Bobby Cannavale (Human Resources), Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo), Rachael Harris (The Hangover), Jackie Tohn (GLOW), Reign Edwards (The Wilds), and Miles Robbins (Blockers).
“I basically cast a bunch of actors around me that are way out of my league,” Burr said about putting together the perfect ensemble. “I learned through Jerry Seinfeld that if you surround yourself with great actors you’re going to look good.”
Old Dads is now streaming on Netflix. Not ready to stop laughing once the credits roll? Turn to this roundup of comedies available on Netflix right now for your next fix.
