The comedian makes his directorial debut with a bitter misfire about three older fathers railing against political correctnessJudd Apatow has spent much of the twenty-first century showing America how dudes become men, his films built coming-of-age-like narratives for overgrown juveniles well into legal adulthood.
In Knocked Up, Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd respectively modeled irresponsibility for twenty and thirtysomethings, and with This is 40, Rudd’s character stared down the barrel of middle age; in all cases, they arrived at the crucial realization that they need to stop clinging to vestiges of immaturity so they can provide for the people they care about.
For these schlubs, the desire to stay young forever meant smoking weed during the daytime, bumping Wu-Tang with your friends and going to rock shows without getting your wife’s permission.
For an ensemble in their 50s, however, rejecting the onward march of time becomes a far dicier proposition.
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