In its regressive gender politics and desperation to translate stand-up comedy success into Hollywood profit, “The Breadwinner” feels like a relic from a bygone era in all of the worst ways.
Nate Bargatze plays Nate Wilcox, a Toyota salesman who cares more about winning salesman of the year than paying even the slightest attention to his family. When his wife, Katie (Mandy Moore), a stay-at-home mom, comes up with an invention that catches the attention of the hosts of “Shark Tank,” Nate is left in care of their three rambunctious daughters. Shenanigans ensue.
You’d be forgiven for assuming “The Breadwinner” was written in the 1990s and has been festering in some producer’s desk, waiting for the right comedian to come around and make the material sing. No, this story was developed by Bargatze himself in collaboration with Dan Lagana, expanding bits developed through his comedy routines, as the end credits punctuate with footage from Bargatze’s sets riffing on topics presented in this movie. What works in a conversational, informal stand-up set does not necessarily work in a narrative feature.
Bargatze’s man-child protagonist feels of a different time. Nate isn’t a hard-pressed workaholic pulled away from his family because of a taxing job. He is an oblivious moron who seemingly takes pride in knowing as little about his family as possible. Each time he demonstrates his lack of involvement with those he supposedly holds most dear, he might as well smirk into the camera and ask, “Ain’t I a stinker?”
His ineptitude is not limited to his family, as he doesn’t seem capable of keeping himself alive. He doesn’t know how to do laundry. He doesn’t know how to cook oatmeal. He doesn’t know where his children go to school. This isn’t comedy – it’s horror.
Centering the story on such a worthless bozo could be tolerable, at the very least, if the film was funny. There are more moments of egregious product placement than genuine humor. I didn’t laugh, I didn’t chuckle, I didn’t smile throughout its somehow-too-long 99-minute runtime. One of the downsides of rehashing a story concept that has been done so many times is that the humor comes off tired and predictable. There is nothing new or interesting here, nothing even incidentally funny in the dialogue or the action.
“The Breadwinner” attempts to achieve some level of heartwarming message at the end, with our lovable loser stumbling his way through all sorts of literal home-wrecking only to offer a heartfelt apology in the end that makes it all okay. The movie may want us to believe this absentee parent of a protagonist will become the loving father and husband his family deserves, but I was left cold, unwilling to partake in this delusion.
A version of this review was posted at Curt On The Movies.
“The Breadwinner” Rated PG for some mild suggestive references. Running Time: 1 hour and 39 minutes. Directed by Eric Appel. Written by Nate Bargatze and Dan Lagana. Starring Bargatze, Mandy Moore, Colin Jost, Zach Cherry, Martin Herlihy, Kumail Nanjiani and Will Forte. Genres: Comedy, Family
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