By Steve Crum

How much more apt than to title a documentary about dads, Dads? Okay, so it could have been called Fathers as well. But Dads has a much more informal, loving inference. 

That pretty much sums up this review of Dads: informal and loving. Of course, there is more to it. 

In her directorial debut, actress Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) features 19 celebrity and non-celebrity fathers sharing experiences in raising their children. Representing real life, there are single and married dads, gay and hetero dads, and fathers of mixed ethnicity.  In Howard’s words, the film “allows us to see the heart of a father.” 

Indeed it does just that. 

Some of the fathers reflect on their own fathers. The Tonight Show’s Jimmy Fallon labels his dad “a hero,” while director Howard praises her dad, director/actor Ron Howard, with memories of inclusiveness and love. In turn, Ron vividly recalls his father, Rance (a professional actor), with appreciation. Rance is interviewed as well, but died before the film’s release.

Incidentally, it is no surprise that a good chunk of this 81-minutes movie is devoted to the Ron Howard clan, including his son Reed—who is also a father. 

One dad, whose lifestyle is as a stay-at-home parent, shares that his situation “has given me a whole new identity.” Seeing one of these fathers trying to maintain control of two or three toddlers at the same time seems pretty challenging. Make that harrowing.

Celebrity papas also include Judd Apatow, Neil Patrick Harris, Ken Jeong, Jimmy Kimmel, Hasan Minhaj, Conan O’Brien, Patton Oswalt, Will Smith, and Kenan Thompson. 

The story line of one non-celeb dad covers participating in the pregnancy to birth days. Included is the announcement of pregnancy to water break/birth…to baby classes taken…to first time holding a baby…to installing the car’s baby seat…and to a parent’s sleep deprivation.

“There is this incredible realization you’re not the most important person in the world,” said Conan O’Brien.

Then there is the child born with health issues, and the sacrifices of a father—indeed both parents. 

One Brazilian father started a podcast with two other dads discussing fatherhood. In the process, he found his real dad. 

“I think the house husband is still a minority,” said one single dad with a child. This is something I experienced nearly 40 years ago, when I was a single dad via divorce who spent a year in court fighting for my right to be the primary custodian of my 3 year-old daughter.

Thankfully, I won the case, if “won” is apropos. There are more single dads parenting kids today, but a stigma still exists. 

“Having a kid is the meaning of life,” said Fallon. Indeed.

And Bryce Dallas Howard’s Dads is a joyful, tearful, happy discovery of the re-defining of fatherhood. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A