Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green , based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 16+
Crude midlife comedy has language, nudity, drugs.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
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Language
a lot
Pervasive swearing throughout includes variations on "f--k," "s--t," "damn," "hell," and "ass." Insults and suggestive language include "c--ksucker," "c--t," "p--sy," "douchebag," "whor*," "bastard," "cum," "balls," "farts," "f-gs," "t-ts," and "d--k." Discussion of who can use the "N" word and "tranny" versus "trans."
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Sex, Romance & Nudity
a lot
Lots of crude and suggestive language, such as mentions of internet p*rn, "f--king," "cum," being "on your period," "finger-banging," "jerking off," orifices, touching boobs and "sucking d--k." Three men go to a strip club where topless women dance sexily for them for money, including sitting on their laps. Women's appearances are discussed but not men's.
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Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a lot
Adults drink alcohol frequently, and a man gets drunk ("hella hammered") in one scene. A man snorts cocaine, which he decides isn't good when it sends him running to the bathroom. There's talk of "blow" and gummies in other scenes. A man vaping tells a man smoking a cigar that no smoking is allowed.
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Violence & Scariness
a little
Two kids scuffle and one has a cut on his arm, so his dad purposefully trips the perpetrator child. There's talk of abortion as "flushing it." A fistfight breaks out among men. A man takes a serious fall off an electric scooter.
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Products & Purchases
a little
Harvard, Duke, Adidas, Airbnb, Ford, Reddit, Twitter, Zip Recruiter, YouTube, TikTok, Tesla.
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Positive Messages
a little
People can change and evolve. No generation is wholly better than any other, and people of different ages can learn from one another. Good parenting should be more about being involved and loving your kids than sending them to the best, most expensive schools.
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Positive Role Models
a little
The older men in the film are resentful of the way society has evolved and seemingly left them behind. They struggle to make sense of the rules of today, which in many cases feel hypocritical to them. Their younger wives and girlfriends recognize their foibles but also see the good men they are deep down. The men try to adapt. A character is caught embezzling.
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Diverse Representations
a little
Main characters in the film are played by mostly White and a couple Black actors. Themes include men in their late 40s learning to respect the more progressive and sensitive language and interactions of younger generations. They have to learn what is and isn't acceptable to talk about (for example: White people should never use the "N" word, the term "spirit animal" trivializes an important Native American symbol, and White men must be aware of their privilege). But on this journey, the main characters make fatphobic, hom*ophobic, and transphobic "jokes." Women have important roles, but they're deeply cliched as catty moms and unlikable wives forced to make the immature men in their lives learn life lessons. Women also appear in minor roles as sex objects at a strip club. Different generations have stereotypes about each other (e.g., Millennials calling Gen X "slackers").
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Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Old Dads is a comedy about three older men (Bill Burr, Bobby Cannavale, and Bokeem Woodbine) who have to learn to respect the more progressive and sensitive language and social interactions of younger generations. This journey brings up a lot of potentially offensive language and scenarios, played for humor. There's discussion of who can use the "N" word, talk about "spirit animals," "tranny" versus "trans," and more. The film has loads of crude and suggestive language, including "f--k," "s--t," "damn," "hell," and "ass." Insults and suggestive language include "c--ksucker," "c--t," "p--sy," "douchebag," "whor*," "bastard," "cum," "balls," "farts," "f-gs," "t-ts," and "d--k." Two kids scuffle and one has a cut on his arm, so his dad purposefully trips the perpetrator child. There's talk of abortion as "flushing it." Three men go to a strip club where topless women dance sexily for them for money, including sitting on their laps. Women's appearances are discussed, but men's are not. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
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Old Dads
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What's the Story?
Best friends and business partners Jack (Bill Burr), Connor (Bobby Cannavale), and Mike (Bokeem Woodbine) are OLD DADS struggling to understand the world of parenting around them. Stuck in their 1980s ways, the trio can't quite grasp the intricacies of progressive culture, the idea of privilege, or where they fit into society anymore. After selling off their company for the profits (Jack needs the money to send his young son to private school), the three are shocked when millennial influencer Aspen Bell (Miles Robbins) takes over and edges them out. Their much younger wives/girlfriends, Leah (Katie Aselton), Cara (Jackie Tohn), and Britney (Reign Edwards) just want their guys to wake up, address their anger issues, and become men of the new millennium.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
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Kids say (1):
Midlife men get the Bad Moms or Wine Country treatment in a comedy that captures some nail-on-the-head intergenerational social quirks but ultimately falls into some of its own traps. Old Dads director/co-writer/star Burr understands the hypocrisy of some behavior among both millennials and Gen Xers, and there are a handful of very funny lines here. These on-pitch moments include scenarios like when a phony school principal draws parallels between a spat with a parent and the Rwandan genocide, when hidden cameras are used to catch people in private spaces saying offensive things, when one White man tells another to "check his privilege," or when a party settles on a "No Theme" theme to avoid upsetting anyone.
There's a whole generation of people "just trying to not get in trouble," Jack whines, and you can see his point. Likewise, the buddies' sexist conversations (Cannavale has the cringiest lines) and anger issues are shown as clearly antiquated. The problem is that as the three dig themselves deeper into their toxic masculine corners, so does the movie. A drug- and alcohol-fueled road trip to a strip club feels, well, straight out of an 1980s movie. Surely that's part of the point, but it underscores that, like their old dads, the filmmakers might not really believe much has improved in society in the last 40 years -- just that they need to get on board or risk becoming truly isolated. It's like an argument with someone who has to have the last word. Old Dads' main audience will likely look, act, and see the world as its three leads do.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what Jack, Connor, and Mike learn in Old Dads. Did you think they needed to change? Why or why not?
What other films or series have you seen that highlight differences between generations? How did this one compare?
The clothing color palettes for different age groups were purposefully selected to represent their different generations. Is this something you noticed? How would you describe each?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: October 20, 2023
- Cast: Bill Burr, Bobby Cannavale, Bokeem Woodbine
- Director: Bill Burr
- Inclusion Information: Latino actors, Black actors
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Comedy
- Topics: Friendship
- Run time: 103 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: pervasive language, sexual material, nudity, and brief drug use
- Last updated: November 2, 2023
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Old Dads
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