The Breadwinner sucks. And it’s a real shame. Nate Bargatze is incredibly talented as a stand up comic, cementing himself as the premiere guy in the form who works clean but actually delivers laughs. This movie, directed by the competent Eric Appel, is supposed to be the vehicle that showcases Bargatze’s talents for the widest possible audience and turns him into a family-friendly comedy star.
Unfortunately for the moviegoing public, this film’s priorities are completely inverted. It’s a movie about a dad who has to take care of his daughters when his wife’s career starts to take off. It’s well-trodden ground, but it should be a fertile ground for comedy.
But the film’s most eggregious offense rears its head within its first 10 minutes. This movie is a 100 minute advertisement. Bargatze’s character doesn’t sell cars. He sells Toyotas. And it’s not a job. He simps for the brand so hard he convinces himself that being a salesman for a Japanese budget car company is actually important. As long as he gets his annual top salesman reward of Tennessee Titans tickets — another logo the audience is forced to see 500 times. Walmart. Country Crock Butter. Kentucky Fried Chicken. Shark Tank. Vanderbilt University. These are the other brands that are awarded supporting roles in The Breadwinner. The Nashville Predators are mercilously spared a mention by the film. They likely just couldn’t pay the fee to show up in the movie, but those dollars saved are dollars earned.
There are plenty of other things to analyze in The Breadwinner. An autopsy of the film would reveal a number of places where the movie goes wrong. But there are two things that really harm it. It has no comedy principles — doesn’t know who the commedian is, scene by scene. And it’s stupid. Nate Bargatze’s stand-up persona is that of an idiot. He has big, doe-y eyes, and talks about struggling with easy domestic tasks. That’s why this Mr. Mom rip-off seems like such a good idea on paper. But in the movie, Appel and company routinely use Nate as the straight man or voice of reason. Colin Jost and Kumail Najiani dominate the work of the comedian in this film. Will Forte, playing a roofer, sticks around far too long. These guys eat up Bargatze’s screen presence, not always to great comedic effect for themselves, but definitely to the detriment of the cause.
And the movie’s plotting is lazy. The invention of Nate’s wife that gets sold on Shark Tank is stupid. The problems his daughters have at school could fit inside an SNL sketch. Even the things that should be lay-ups for the film are wrong. I kind of believe that Nate Bargatze would struggle to make toast on the stove or use a washing machine to clean towels. But the movie doesn’t really show us the fun processes of him fumbling with these tasks. It just lets him talk about sucking at them. That fundamentally misses the medium. Cinema is a time based medium. Watching Nate struggle to put a vaccuum cleaner together for 3 minutes might be funnier than any quip in this movie.
One of the only nice things about this is that the story takes place in Nashville, and even if the city has been sterilized for the screen, there’s a brief moment where a Fox’s Donut Den bag shows up on screen. It might be the only product placement that isn’t from a major corporation. Their donuts rule. $15 should still get you a dozen or so. Do that instead of seeing The Breadwinner.
2.5 Stars.
Incisive, cutting commentary that is unfortunately “ spot on “…… opportunity missed by the film world……. hopefully Nate gets another shot to showcase his skills in another vehicle ( pun intended, not a Toyota obviously 😉 ).
I do love Fox’s.