Dad is an idiot. That’s it. That’s the joke, repeated over and over and over again until the movie ends. And we’ve seen this. We have seen it in the form of Fred Flintstone, Peter Griffin, and Homer Simpson. Star/co-writer Nate Bargartze -who, quite genuinely is an idiot (did you really defend the White House/UFC match?!)- isn’t the first to play an idiot father, but he might be the first to learn exactly zippo while on the job. There’s MAGA innovation for ya: don’t want your wife to work? Act like a buffoon until she has no other choice.
Let me be clear, this is not a MAGA aligned film (as far as I can tell), but we’ve seen the story of an idiot father so often that when it comes without a learning curve, one cannot help but wonder if this a strategy rather than circumstance. And, well, I cannot pair “idiot father” and “no learning curve” without thinking of MAGA. That’s the entire world of Donald Trump and his minions.
This movie is about Nate Wilcox (Bargatze), and not his talented wife, Katie (Mandy Moore). Kinda says it all right, there, huh? The talented female partner is ignored while the intellectually challenged mediocre man is highlighted. Welcome to the United States of 2026. Believe me, this film should be about Katie. Nate and Katie have fathered three delightful girls, of whom Mom knows everything and Dad knows nothing. And it is an impressive nothing that dad knows. When pressed, Nate can neither name nor locate a single school attended by one of his children. Do you know how out-of-it you have to be to reach that level of stupidity? Nothing?! No printed t-shirt, email, book report, random announcement or even just the city layout filtered through his brain by osmosis?! Sorry, but that is literally impossible.
Or, I should put it this way: that is literally impossible while still having a happy wife and family. Those two ideas are completely incompatible. But this is the world of Nate, who is a top car salesman (because he can “read” people. Really? REALLY?!), yet clicks the brain’s off switch once he stops working. The controversy in this film happens when Katie takes her talents to “Shark Tank,” a “reality” TV show where the contestants pitch their money-making ideas to investors. The investors then discuss and decide before a national audience whether or not to invest. It is as equally and laughably fake as any other reality TV, but -let’s face it- in Trump’s America, this is one of the few ways to get ahead. One investor likes Katie’s pitch and sends her to a start-up factory in South Korea. That leaves Dad alone with his daughters.
Uh oh.
I’m not even embarrassed as a man here. Sure, plenty of men suck at domesticity. But plenty of men also know how to plug in a toaster as well. And plenty of men know enough not to tell their hard-working middle child that her pains are meaningless. This
father is presented as useless for comic effect, so I understand there’s a level of gross exaggeration and hyperbole running amok. To which I say, well, then, shouldn’t the jokes be funnier? And every single joke in the film comes down to “Dad is an idiot.” There’s more nuance in “The Simpsons” or “Family Guy” if it comes to that.
Nate is, however, likable. And such separates The Breadwinner from a film that shouldn’t have been made and a film that is in the year’s bottom 10. I don’t mind if you put it there, but I’ll let it drown the normal way first. What really gets me about this film is the expectations behind it: sure, a world in which Dad is responsible for 100% of the income and 0% of everything else. I understand these households exist … but they really don’t have a place in 21st Century America … and if you really think about it, they didn’t exist in the 1950s, either. You just think they did, MAGA.
The Breadwinner isn’t an evil film, but it sure as Hell is a condescending and cynical one. I’m embarrassed for a world in which this is top grade humor; it’s probably the same one in which the thought of a housewife having her own business or a dad having to do the laundry or play chauffeur is horrifying. C’mon, Nate. Join the freaking 21st Century, pal.
There once was a father named Nate
His parenting stopped well short of great
His kids, so he claims
He could remember their names
But who they are? Just not on his plate
Rated PG, 99 Minutes
Director: Eric Appel
Writer: Nate Bargatze, Dan Lagana
Genre: Stupid
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Pre-pubescent girls, apparently
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Adults who value intelligence
