Dads Parent Guide

“To be a good dad, that is a blessing that you can pass on.” - Ron Howard.

As a tribute to her father, Bryce Dallas Howard has set out to make a documentary about what it means to be a dad in our modern world – just in time for Father’s Day. She interviews a variety of celebrity dads, including her own, and explores the experiences of some non-famous dads in a range of situations and locations.

Dads is a tribute to the fathers that shaped us, raised us, and inspired us. It is a love letter to all the dads who are trying their best to define fatherhood in a world where that role has changed significantly in the past decades. It’s very sweet and heartfelt; I teared up a few times! But it is also funny, as people like Conan O’Brien, Ken Jeong, and Judd Apatow hilariously describe their experiences as fathers.

If the documentary had just been interviews with celebrities, this production would have been a failure. No one wants to just hear about the experiences of rich and famous people, because parenting as a celebrity is completely different than what most parents experience. What this documentary does right is interweave snippets from celebrities in with features on some real-life dads. These dads come from a wide range of situations – some are stay at home dads, some work, some are adoptive dads, some have children with special needs, but all are examples of dads who are trying their best, who are present, who are working to be the best dad they can be. By focusing on these fathers, Howard is able to successfully paint a picture of modern fatherhood, with the help of some of her industry peers.

As sweet as it is, I found that Dads skirts around some of the bigger issues facing fathers today. There are mentions of things like paternity leave, traditional gender roles, and societal pressures, but none of these issues are looked at in any sort of depth, nor are any solutions presented. That said, I don’t think that Howard was intending to make a documentary about those problems; this production seems to be a tribute, a love letter, to dads. If you are looking for in depth analysis, this is not the movie for you. If you want to see some amazing examples of inspirational fathers and get your fill of chubby baby cheeks, you’ll enjoy Dads.