"Fatherhood" warm and likable without being entirely insightful

Fatherhood (2021)

“Fatherhood” has its heart in the right place without saying anything new. It can be applauded for being what it isn’t—a glib, frantic feature-length sitcom with soiled diaper hijinks—but the film is actually noteworthy for what it is: a commercially viable vehicle for Kevin Hart that doesn’t lose recognizable honesty. Based on a true story (and a book, “Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love,” by Matthew Logelin), the film still has shades of the deathless 1983 Michael Keaton vehicle “Mr. Mom” and Kevin Smith’s sticky-sweet 2004 romantic dramedy “Jersey Girl.” Luckily, director Paul Weitz (2015’s “Grandma”) handles the sentimental material on a down-to-earth, surprisingly human level, even if Weitz’s script co-written with Dana Stevens (2013’s “Safe Haven”) isn’t always that insightful, and the wonderful cast helps greatly. 

In a nice change of pace from comic-dynamo roles, Kevin Hart stretches those dramatic muscles and gives one of his most likably modulated on-screen performances. He plays Matt Logelin, a Minnesotan who’s moved to Boston and quickly thrust into single parenthood when his wife Liz (Deborah Ayorinde) suddenly dies from a pulmonary embolism after giving birth to their daughter. When Matt returns to his tech firm workplace and his boss (Paul Reiser) encourages him to still take time off, he sets off to take care of his daughter, Maddy (Melody Hurd), by himself. His mother-in-law, Marion (Alfre Woodard), wants him to either move back to Minnesota or she will stay on longer to help, even longer than Matt’s own mother Anna (Thedra Porter). But Matt's life is in Boston and he has to live for his daughter, going at it alone in ways his wife would have wanted (like enrolling Maddy in a private school, despite a pesky dress code). It may take a village to raise a child, but Matt will have to navigate the difficulties of not only raising Maddy as a single dad with barely any time to actually grieve the loss of his spouse but eventually opening himself up to another relationship.

“Fatherhood” is warm, moving, and amusing here and there in a conventional kind of way. It’s hardly illuminating and predestined in where it goes, but pleasantly predictable just the same when showing parental anxiety without any unnecessary contrivance. While Kevin Hart gets to be more mature and understated, 9-year-old Melody Hurd (Amazon’s “Them”) is an adorable poppet, yes, but always believable. There’s also a reliable supporting cast, with Alfre Woodard and Frankie Faison, bringing just enough nuance as Matt’s in-laws Marion and Howard; and Lil Rel Howery and Anthony Carrigan, who are both solid as Matt's friends, the out-to-have-a-good-time Jordan and chatty co-worker Oscar. Underused as she ends up being, DeWanda Wise (2019's "Someone Great") is radiant through and through as Lizzy Swan, an animator who gets set up with Matt and becomes his potential love interest. Yes, the weird coincidence of her name also being Liz is addressed, but it’s smartly written in that Lizzy can’t be compared to Matt’s late wife. Neither is Lizzy a mere plot device but a cool, funny, wise, and free-thinking woman. The heartstrings don’t get tugged more than they have to—one death, and so early on, is probably enough for one movie—but “Fatherhood” may mostly deliver the “for every laugh, a tear” formula. 

Grade: B -

Netflix is releasing “Fatherhood” (109 min.) to stream on June 18, 2021.