Dads
By Jennifer Green,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Poignant docu finds common themes among diverse dads.
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Dads
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What's the Story?
DADS combines celebrity interviews, home movies, viral videos, and profiles of a diversity of dads in an exploration of what it means to be a father today. The documentary is directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, daughter of director-actor Ron Howard (also a producer here), and starts with home video footage of her own birth in 1981. The profiles include a California man who runs a popular vlog, Beleaf in Fatherhood, dedicated to his life as a stay-at-home dad; a single father in Virginia whose son has endured years of hospitalizations and surgeries due to a heart defect; a man in Brazil whose parenting podcast reunited him with his own estranged father; another man in Japan who overcame a distressing health diagnosis and his country's workaholic culture to find joy in fatherhood; and a gay couple in Maryland who fostered then adopted four children struggling with past abuse. The celebrities interviewed include, among others, late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, and Conan O'Brien, comedians Ken Jeong, Kenan Thompson, and Hasan Minaj, and actors/directors Will Smith, Neil Patrick Harris, and Judd Apatow.
Is It Any Good?
It would be hard not to be moved by the raw emotion each man brings to telling his story of becoming not just a father, but a dad. Maybe it's appropriate that the daughter of Ron Howard, costar of that quintessential TV portrait of fatherhood, The Andy Griffith Show, would be behind a documentary on Dads. Director Bryce Dallas Howard certainly seems to have found inspiration in her own paternal role models, including dad Ron and grandfather Rance, and she incorporates home movies and testimonies from her own family members into her film. She's also dedicated Dads to Rance, who passed away in 2017, but not before she could capture him on film. Her personal connection to the material, and apparent friendships with the celebrities she interviews, add warmth and sincerity to Howard's direction, helping to offset the reality that celebrities may not represent the most typical experiences.
Howard has also pulled together some riveting case studies of a diversity of non-celebrity dads from varied backgrounds. These stories are further supplemented by clips from home videos from a variety of parents -- some touching and some hilarious, especially where teenage kids are concerned. The film can sometimes feel like it's advocating for a specific enlightened model of parenting, or serving as a pep talk for new or expecting dads (including her brother). That essence is captured in the documentary's tagline: "You got this. Even when you don't."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the subject of this film -- Dads. What does your father mean to you? What do you think is the role of a father?
How did the celebrity interviews compliment the profiles of non-celebrity dads? Which story most interested you, and why?
What social or parenting differences did you notice in Brazil and Japan? What similarities do all the countries share?
What did you think of the director appearing on screen, interviewing her family members and incorporating her own family's home movies, including her birth?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: June 19, 2020
- Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron Howard, Judd Apatow
- Director: Bryce Dallas Howard
- Studio: Apple TV+
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Great Boy Role Models
- Run time: 87 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: February 18, 2023
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