Fatherhood
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) | Release Date (Streaming): June 18, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJun 17, 2021
It’s nice to see Hart in a role where the comedy is relatively low-key and dialogue-driven (though there are a few hilarious physical bits of humor). Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy BurrJun 16, 2021
Almost as generic as its title, Fatherhood is made real enough to matter by the strength of its performances and the sincerity of its makers. Read full review
75
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiJun 16, 2021
Perhaps a little too slight to be memorable in the long run, this sensitive and charming tale reassures without, somehow, completely ignoring reality. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeJun 16, 2021
It’s both an effective star vehicle and a tender tearjerker. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 18, 2021
There is virtually nothing here we haven’t seen in a dozen similar movies, particularly that “Kramer vs. Kramer” parenting arc (one parental “indulgence” leads to disaster, etc.). But it’s perfectly watchable, maybe even for the entire family. Just keep a finger on the “mute” button whenever Lil Rel opens his mouth. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrJun 16, 2021
The film does a good job balancing the drama with the comedy however, and is helped by a strong supporting cast, including Lil Rel Howery and Anthony Carrigan as Matt’s best friends. Read full review
60
CNNBrian LowryJun 18, 2021
The appeal of Fatherhood really boils down to its title, the resilience of the human spirit, and Hart being bold enough -- like his alter ego -- to think that he can do this. And like Matt, by the time it's over, he's demonstrated that he pretty well can. Read full review
60
VarietyOwen GleibermanJun 16, 2021
It transitions Hart from playfully scowling cutup to earnest heartfelt actor, and it does so in a way that, at times, is genuinely touching, even as the audience can see every sanded-down conflict and market-tested beat falling into place. Read full review
58
Original-CinLiam LaceyJun 17, 2021
When the movie abandons the memoir’s story of grief and joy it becomes less interesting. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonJun 18, 2021
Fatherhood is at its best and most watchable when it’s just Hart and Hurd onscreen. Matt and Maddy’s undeniable and reciprocated love for one another radiates from the actors, even in their broadest scenes of comedy. Read full review
50
ABC NewsPeter TraversJun 18, 2021
Edgy comic Kevin Hart smooths out his rough edges to play a widower trying to raise his daughter alone. Hart can act, but he can’t act his way out of a sappy script that too often mistakes manipulative laughs and tears for genuine emotion. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJun 17, 2021
Despite Weitz’s sensitive direction and a superb cast — including Frankie R. Faison as Marian’s patient husband, DeWanda Wise as Matt’s patient love interest and Paul Reiser as his patient boss — Fatherhood can’t quite deliver. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Aparita BhandariJun 16, 2021
The challenge of watching Fatherhood is that it’s tough to make out what sort of a narrative it’s trying to tell. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenJun 16, 2021
Though Logelin’s story of loss and perseverance is touching, there isn’t really anything deep or convincing about grief or parenting in Fatherhood, making this promising tale something more middling and a touch disappointing. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleChris VognarJun 16, 2021
It takes a little while, but Fatherhood eventually becomes exactly what you expected. It will make no converts, nor will it push away the faithful. It’s a Kevin Hart movie, after all. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJun 16, 2021
There could be something to say here about how comically low society’s expectations for fathers remain. The movie also briefly, incisively captures the new-parent contradiction of desperately needing help while wanting to be left alone, free of unsolicited input. But director and co-writer Paul Weitz (About A Boy) keeps making odd choices for what, in a single father’s life, requires comic or dramatic emphasis. Read full review
42
The PlaylistStaff (Not Credited)Jun 18, 2021
While Fatherhood could have been an interesting pivot in his career, the script is too standard-issue and unimaginative to inspire a great dramatic performance from Hart. Read full review
40
The GuardianCharles BramescoJun 16, 2021
Hart comports himself with a more dialed-back version of the jittery everyman affability he’s developed over decades in the comedy circuit, a schtick that reads as just that – a pose, a well-honed affectation. There is an immense and documentable falseness at the core of his performance that drags down the salvageable movie all around it, far from the redemption arc clincher his handlers may have had in mind. Read full review
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