Bill Burr’s directorial debut on Netflix has received some mixed reviews from the audience. Just three days after its October 20 release, Burr’s directorial debut, Old Dads, was viewed for 23.1 million hours and raked in a total of 13.3 million views. It quickly gained the number one spot on Netflix’s Global Top 10 list for the October 16-22 viewing window.
While it may have not received rave reviews from critics, one scene in particular has resonated with the internet audience.
Bill Burr’s ‘Old Dads’ Apology Scene Pleases The Fans
In the movie Old Dads, Bill Burr portrays a father with a dirty mouth who is having difficulty adjusting to a continually evolving world, something that viewers can relate to.
His many partnerships with Netflix demonstrate that Bill Burr can emotionally bond with his audience. These include four stand-up performances and the animated sitcom F Is for Family.
In Old Dads one scene involves Jack making amends with a collection of individuals in his son’s school following his heated exchange with the kindergarten principal.
After offering his apology, the director makes him deliver the apology to the group of parents and children who were present.
Bill Burr who plays Jack starts his apology with a sincere line,
“Looking back I let my emotions get the best of me yesterday. I wish I could have chosen my words a bit differently.”
He then goes on to address the young children and their parents.
“I’m sorry that six of you heard this and told the over 40. And to any of the children that heard what I said it’s never OK to save those words. I was very wrong.
“That’s it. Have a nice morning and keep using those paper straws. They get soggy, but they’re good for the turtles.”
The movie concludes with Jack managing to overcome his temper problems following the apology scene.
Many viewers have praised the movie, noting that it accurately reflects the current climate, particularly the prevalence of insincere apologies that are frequently uttered.
Reacting to the scene, some fans shared their views on Bill Burr’s character.
“This whole scene made me mad. I’m totally on Bill’s side,” wrote one user.
Another added,
“So apt for this day & age.”
Another one commented,
“It’s CLASSIC. I was celebrating! It’s how every apology, where an apology wasn’t warranted should be.”
The film includes segments that demonstrate the irony of those who criticize others without considering their own problematic conduct. It also briefly examines the shallowness of companies and corporations that use progressive language but make no real changes.
Despite this, Old Dads was not popular among critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a score of 24% and receiving many negative reviews. Here are some of the reviews as seen on Rotten Tomatoes:
“Rather than challenge himself, Burr instead uses the film to adapt his schtick into a three-hander bro comedy addressing the generational divide regarding modern mores and language.”
-Oliver Jones, The Observer
“The whole ‘does it offend you, yeah?’ routine only works if someone commits to it, and Burr is too much of a softy at heart to go all the way. He doesn’t want to piss people off, he just wants to air his grievances about progressive culture.”
-David Ehlrich, IndieWire
“The writing sometimes collapses into overkill, but sometimes it is precisely on point.”-John Oliver, The Wall Street Journal“As hot as he is on stage, Bill Burr picked a lousy time to try migrating his angry-guy act to movies, as he does in the fitfully funny Old Dads.”-Brian Lowry, CNN.com“The characters aren’t really characters so much as they’re stand-ins and targets for Burr’s ideas and jokes, and those jokes are as stale as the Kaitlyn Jenner material Burr dusts off here.”-Adam Graham, Detroit News
