Fatherhood
NetflixFrom stand-up comic to friend of Dwayne Johnson and co-star of his many movies, Kevin Hart is on the path to acclaim. Reinvention is an inevitability for many of those stagnating comedians. Stars of the comedy genre can only make it so far. Whether that is fair or not is neither here nor there, but it does allow us to test the dramatic chops of actors we know and love from classic nostalgia pieces that elicited tears of joy years before. Hart is the latest man to manage this manoeuvre, and while Fatherhood is not his first foray into the wilderness of drama, it is one of the prominent few that throws the spotlight on him.
That is what he desired, and his role as Matthew Logelin, a widowed father of one, allows him to flex his dramatic muscles. “You’re just gonna pick yourself up and be this wonderful, special guy you’ve always been.” says the mother of Matt. That is the stance Fatherhood takes on the grieving process, and there is never a moment of poignancy or intimacy that could suggest otherwise. The audience is given the standard dichotomy of happiness and tragedy. Preparation for birth and the fallout of death. It is not woven with any particulars that stand out. Vicissitude lingers on the threshold of Matt’s life. For every joyful action, a particular reaction leaves him paralysed with grief or thoroughly removed from the world around him. That should be at the forefront of Paul Weitz’s directing intentions, but without Hart, it is all meaningless and fumbles through a setlist of emotional moments that will degrade the feelings of an audience, given how simple Fatherhood can be.
Fatherhood is dependent on tearing down parental tropes but never gets to the point soon enough. There are loose commentaries on social constructs and stereotypes too. They feel weak and shallow, ticking boxes and providing a fake semblance of representation. Fatherhood has neither the heart nor knowledge to deal with death or anything else it wishes to cover. It casts its net wide, and through grieving, the viewer sees a man adapting to everything life throws at him. Such variety causes more harm than good. Hart flounders, waiting for the change in pace or characterisation to move him on to the next moment or set-piece. He is a tableau, shuffled around by Weitz to filter through whatever inarticulate commentary he wishes to apply to Hart. It is a sad waste of talent. To Hart’s credit, he adapts to this well and blends that comedic charm with serious acting chops. It is a blend many stars hope for, and few manage. A sad shame is that everything around Hart is a usual humdrum and emotionally simple affair.
When creatives base their work on the real world, they have a duty to adhere to the facts as closely as possible. Fatherhood has those critical moments, those poignant scenes of a father struggling to rise to the challenge, but it feels artificial. It feels false. Weitz directs with lacking compassion and an explicit demonstration of how bland and broad topics never get to the heart of emotional strife. Fatherhood has a strong leading man, but the writing around Hart and the static shot choreography does nothing to demonstrate the heartbreak and horror of losing a loved one.