Fatherhood - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Fatherhood



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Honestly, I look back at recent years and have slowly realized that family films aren’t nearly as common as they once more. Sure, Pixar and Disney still pump out their animated films, and Dreamworks has done great, but there used to be a deluge of live action family oriented films when I was growing up. Fred MacMurray, Don Knotts, Tim Conway and many more inspirational style stories were just the norm. So I have a weakness for the genre and love it when I can find a family friendly flick that its the spot. Now, before I go on I must admit that due to some of the language that Fatherhood isn’t going to be shown to 10 year old Timmy and little Jane, but the movie manages to nail so many things right in that genre that it’s hard not to lump it in with the “family” oriented films of the past.

Much like Mark Wahlberg being super passionate about playing Father Stu, Kevin Hart was super passionate about adapting Matt Logelin’s book about being a single father into movie form. I didn’t really expect much from the trailers and press releases, especially considering that I”m not a wild fan of Kevin Hart. His brand of humor has always irked me and usually I’m more than happy to see him take a punch in the face over listening to him in films. Well, color me a bit surprised and having to eat some crow, as Fatherhood turned out to be a very very pleasant surprise. Warm, inviting, heart breaking, and genuinely relatable to anyone who’s had children, it had me smiling from ear to ear by the time the credits rolled.

The film opens up with Matt Logelin (Kevin Hart) having to do something that he never expected to do this early in life. That is, give his wife’s eulogy right after they gave birth to their 1st child. Liz Logelin suffered a blood clot and died right after giving birth, leaving Matt not only a widower, but a single father as well with no idea of how he’s going to raise a child alone. However, raise her he does, with Matt and putting his heart and soul into raising young Maddy (Melody Hurd). First it’s diapers, then it’s the terrible twos, then it’s catholic school and a young daughter who’s wiling to pop the bully in the teeth. Then comes the hardest part of it iall. Finding love once more and trying to fit back into life as man looking for companionship, even though all he’s known for the last 10 years is being a father.

Fatherhood really did take me by surprise. I was fully expecting bad humor from Hart and another indie failure judging by the trailer. But what we got was a family oriented movie that really hit all of the highlights of raising a child by yourself. Hart is very very different from his usual slapstick roles, instead channeling a sort of tense and frustrated terror that pretty much follows most father’s around. He’s serious, slightly funny, but most of all, incredibly likable. While I wouldn’t classify Fatherhood as a comedy, there are some genuinely funny moments thanks to the addition of veteran Paul Reiser, Anthony Carrigan (who is one of the better comedic relief characters) and incredibly enough, Melody Hurd as Maddy. Melody knocked it out of the park playing a sassy little girl and she balances that tightrope of being sassy and annoying and sweetly endearing at the same time. Her and Kevin’s chemistry together is really what sold it here. Without that, this might have just been another low budget family drama.

The movie is not going to win an academy award for best drama. Kevin Hart is not perfect in the role either. But the movie manages to be so warm, so inviting, and so uplifting that you’re willing to overlook that some of the interactions can be a little cliched. It’s a testament to all involved that it manages to be that entertaining and enjoyable as everyone is really putting their heart and soul into making this work. Usually movies that are about a true and tragic story suffer from being overly hyperly religious with bad acting, or just plain cheesy. Fatherhood is neither, simply telling a tale of perseverance and relatable child rearing with just a little bit of humor to make the medicine go down.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for some strong language, and suggestive material.




Video:

Shot digitally, Fatherhood is a great looking 1080p disc. Shiny and sunny with lots of natural lighting, the film just sparkles in HD. The film tends to look very natural looking with skin tones and no real major filters used to color change the look. Bright white lighting gives everything a warm and inviting look, with plenty of fine details and robust color saturation. The film thrives off of green foliage and bright primary shades for clothing details, and except for some minor noise in a darker shot (when Matt is telling sleeping Maddy in her bed that he’s leaving her with her grandparents for a while) it’s spot on pristine. Just some mild soft shots and the like to keep it from absolute perfection.







Audio:

Fatherhood’s 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is exactly what you would expect from a low key drama. It’s clean, clear, precise, but still very very forward heavy except for the score. There’s some surround activity when Matt’s at the airport or in a carnival, but otherwise 95% of the activity is found in the 3 main channels. LFE pops up here and there (such as the rollercoaster), but like the rest of the ancillary channels, it is mild and used to accentuate rather than draw attention to itself throughout the film. Good mix, very much a drama track in nature.












Extras:

• Sony Previews

Final Score: ​

As I said, this flick actually came out of left field in terms of enjoyment. I really didn’t expect to like the movie as much as I did. There were a few comedy missteps (Lil Rel is usually unfunnier than even Hart), but overall this is a sweet, warm, and very heartfelt dramedy. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great, although the disc is devoid of any extras outside some previews. Worth taking a look if the trailer interests you.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kevin Hart, Alfre Woodark, Lil Rel Howery, DeWanda Wise
Directed by: Paul Weitz
Written by: Dana Stevens, Paul Weitz, Matt Logelin (book)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, French, Portuguese DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, English DVS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Indonesian, Korean, Portugese, Thai
Studio: Sony
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 109 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 14th, 2022

Recommendation: Cute Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I am not a big Kevin Hart fan but this looks promising. Reminds me of Eddie Murphy doing Mr. Church. Comedian doing serious roles and Eddie did a great job in that movie.
Will check it out.

 

[Epoxy1]

Took me by surprise as well and both my wife and I enjoyed it more than we thought we would. Even made us tear up a couple of times.

 

[Michael Scott]

Took me by surprise as well and both my wife and I enjoyed it more than we thought we would. Even made us tear up a couple of times.

same here. I literally had ZERO expectations going into it and was very pleasantly surprised.