Comedian Nate Bargatze’s fame has skyrocketed over the past few years thanks to brilliantly quotable standup specials, a couple of Saturday Night Live appearances (that Washington’s Dream sketch is a classic) and the unique ideas he brought to his Emmys hosting gig. Now he’s set to star in his first movie — The Breadwinner — as a guy who becomes a stay-at-home dad when his wife gets a big deal on Shark Tank. Reviews are in for the new comedy, and this is exactly what I was afraid of.
The premise of The Breadwinner draws an obvious comparison to Mr. Mom, which came out in 1983. More than 40 years later, are we still supposed to laugh at dads who can’t cook eggs or do laundry? Is this not insulting to both men and women? I do love Nate Bargatze’s comedy, though, so I hoped that would overpower a seemingly antiquated plot. According to Natalia Winkelman of Variety, that’s not exactly the case, as she says in her review of The Breadwinner:
The Breadwinner would like to spin Nate’s mess into a lesson about the value of domestic work, but the tacked-on ending can’t overcome the regressive premise underneath. And let alone regressive — how about boring? Here is the story of a moron with such limited interest in subordinating his own needs that he destroys everything around him. Select moments may land a laugh, but zoom out a little, and the real joke is that this movie was made in 2026.
William Bibbiani of The Wrap agrees, saying this “hackneyed” premise was old in 1983 and even when I Love Lucy did it in 1952. It begs the question, Bibbiani says, of how The Breadwinner scored a major summer release with a plot that doesn’t belong in this century. The critic continues:
The Breadwinner has more stale corny bits than a Kellogg’s factory dumpster. Sure, it’s made for families but that’s a terrible excuse. Families deserve better movies than this. Every movie doesn’t have to be a classic, but I’m pretty sure every comedy should at least try to be funny, and The Breadwinner isn’t trying very hard. It leans on every boring cliché in the book. And it’s not a well-written book.
Matt Schimkowitz of AV Club gives the movie a C-, saying it’s too busy trying to sell regressive comedy and KFC to produce quality entertainment. Fans of the comedian will have some laughs, but overall, they deserve better. The critic's review reads:
Fans of Bargatze’s squeaky clean comedy of domestic absurdity will feel comforted by The Breadwinner‘s lightly toasted humor. They’ll feel doubly reassured by the clips from Bargatze’s stand-up that inspired the film’s material, which roll over the credits between shots of the cast cracking up. Sure, they all had a good time, but the audience deserves something more than what they’ve been fed before.
Frank Scheck of THR also argues that a movie doesn't have to be “painfully bland” to be family-friendly. Scheck’s review of The Breadwinner also points out that its story might be funnier if it wasn't something that’s been done in funnier ways in every family sitcom and several movies before it. The critic writes:
But even forgetting its predecessors, The Breadwinner is so lazy and laid-back that it practically recedes into itself. This is a film that makes television shows like Father Knows Best and My Three Sons seem edgy. Bargatze’s resolutely deadpan comic persona works well for his stand-up act, but onscreen he seems mostly on the verge of a coma, his eyes occasionally blinking to signal distress.
Alison Foreman of IndieWire cuts Nate Bargatze a little slack, grading it a C+ and saying it’s “truly decent” compared to other big studio releases right now. There are enough solid jokes to elicit some laughs — which should be a given with a cast that boasts talent like Mandy Moore, Colin Jost, Zach Cherry, Kumail Nanjiani and Will Forte. Some viewers may find the not-so-subtle product placement distracting, though. Foreman warns:
In an era that’s made it nearly impossible for mid-budget comedies to thrive at the box office, there’s something oddly soothing about seeing The Breadwinner roll out nationwide. That victory gets undermined by the nakedness of Sony’s cross-promotional branding in the film: a business strategy that practically requires adult viewers to harbor an ironic, post-modern appetite for luminous KFC dinners, glistening bottles of Bud Light, and some suspiciously well-framed shots of the latest Apple Watch.
It would be nearly impossible for a movie starring and co-written by Nate Bargatze to not be funny at all, and most critics agree they had at least a few chuckles. However, between shameless product placement, cliché humor and a bafflingly outdated plot, this may not be the big-screen debut the comedian hoped for.
If you want to see The Breadwinner (possibly at a reduced rate), the movie hits theaters on Friday, May 29.
