Fatherhood ★★

Paul Weitz

Starring Kevin Hart, Alfre Woodard, Melody Hurd, Teneisha Collins, Rodney Alexandre

Kevin Hart stars as a new father who instantly must face anyone’s worst nightmare, losing his wife. He is thrust into parenthood, solo, and must prove everyone around him wrong as they throw doubt on his ability to bring up his daughter, Maddy (Melody Hurd).

Its attempts to be an emotional rollercoaster did not work on this reviewer. The main theme throughout is Hart’s ineptitude at being a father, however he doesn’t seem as bad as they’re making out; (the only thing he did wrong before the baby was born was to not build the crib on time). As he brings up Maddy, it’s clear that he’s trying his best and so everyone else’s argument that he was useless didn’t wash; the high stakes they were trying to inject just weren’t there.

Although the plot doesn’t seem to work, there are some nice moments to be had; mainly with the great chemistry Kevin Hard and his on-screen daughter, Melody Hurd seem to have. The moments between them are lovely, comical and the closest to heart-warming that this movie gets. Hart’s serious performance works too as he still has a comedy side to him, making him generally believable.

Although it may be enjoyable for those who like the ‘sad premise with a heart-warming message’ movies, for others it may leave a lot to be desired. It may be one of Hart’s better performances, but it’s definitely not one of his best films.

Fatherhood available now on Netflix