BILL BURR is a standup comedian who’s not well known locally but has made several comedy specials that gained him his own set of fans. He has now directed, co-written and starred in his own movie, “Old Dads”, currently streaming on Netflix.
If you’re familiar with his kind of irreverent humor, you’ll surely enjoy it, specially if you are sick and tired of all the political correctness and eccentricities that our currently ultra-permissive society imposes upon us.
Burr has a funny way of showing how smug and cretinous some members of today’s younger generations can be, but he also admits that his own generation is not perfect either. Old fogeys like us can easily relate with his frustrations.
Burr plays Jack Kelly, who, along with his long time friends, Connor (Bobby Cannavale of “Ant-Man”) and Mike (Bokeem Woodbine of “Ghostbusters Afterlife”), have become late dads in their 50s and now have a hard time adjusting to the modern world of millennials and Gen Zs who look at old folks with their more conservative attitudes as outdated dinosaurs.
Burr is married to Leah (Katie Aselton), who is pregnant with their second child. Connor is married to Cara (Jackie Tohn) and he has an unruly young son, thanks to his wife who is so tolerant and just let him express himself and indulge in whatever he wants to do, including later nastily punching the tummy of a pregnant woman.
Mike has a much younger partner, Britney (Reign Edwards), who he is proud of as she’s getting along well with his ex-wife. He has undergone vasectomy so imagine his surprise when Britney tells him that she is pregnant. Bill and Connor try to cheer him up by praising the virility of his seed.
The three friends sell their company making sports jersey shirts to a hipster millennial, Aspen (Miles Robbins, the son of Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins) who has very unique ideas about running the business.
The first thing he does is to fire everyone in the company born before 1988. Yes, 30 is considered ancient and his company has to be gender and carbon neutral.
The film’s level of humor is really meant for audiences of a certain age. Otherwise, you won’t be able to appreciate all the jokes, like the one involving “Braveheart”. Also, a sex fantasy involving former First Lady Barbara Bush and singer Samantha Fox who’s best known song is “Touch Me, I Want Your Body”.
Burr is accused of having a volatile temper and is adviced to get anger management counseling.
He complains about scooter riders who hog the road (just like the motorcycle riders here in Manila who have no respect for traffic rules and regulations), vapers who are actually as bad as cigarette smokers, and don’t get him started about social media, as he has so many gripes against it.
One of his most hilarious encounters is with a snooty pre-school principal who says he is supposed to be penalized for being two minutes late in picking up his son after class, aggravated when he offends her by calling her a stumpy cunt.
He is forced to apologize to the principal, who has the power to make later recommendations about their son.
But he is required to also say sorry to all the uber-sensitive parents of the other pupils who likewise all act like some self-righteous cunts telling him what specifically upset them.
We find the movie entertaining enough in its barrage of jokes and gags making fun of the clash between two different cultures: the older and the younger generations.
This surely sounds like familiar territory, like the guys being branded misogynistic for some silly jokes they made in private.
There are other funny sequences in the movie, like a visit to a strip club and when Jack’s wife is about to give birth and he gets an old, ill-tempered uber driver (played by Bruce Dern), who gives him some unsolicited advice and tells him that when his own son was born, he was just in a bar drinking beer.
Fans of Burr who are familiar with his comic routines and persona will no doubt enjoy his portrayal of his role as an acerbic guy in this movie.
He gets great support from Canavale, Woodbine and many other comedians who play cameos doing various roles.
If you don’t fully believe in PC (political correctness, specially if it becomes so OA) and everything being “woke” (aware of racial prejudice), then you won’t be offended by some of the sentiments expressed in the movie that show how the world has evolved in recent years.
