FATHERHOOD
Funny, heartfelt fatherhood drama with serious content concerns.
Should You Watch It?
FATHERHOOD earns its four-star entertainment rating with humor, compelling drama, heartfelt emotion, and strong performances. Kevin Hart and Alfre Woodard bring real dramatic tension to a story about grief, perseverance, family commitment, and the determination to provide for a child despite hardship.
The cost is substantial. The film contains about 30 obscenities, a “JC” profanity, a “swear to God” profanity, implied fornication, sexual innuendo, and other content detailed below. Its worldview also includes a politically correct treatment of a Catholic school conflict.
Adults who can handle those concerns may find a moving story about a father and daughter. For children and young teens, this is not a family movie-night choice.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESMatt must raise his new baby daughter, Maddy, alone after her mother unexpectedly dies just after childbirth. His mother, mother-in-law, friends, supervisor, and a local parenting support group help him adjust to feeding, naptimes, work, and the daily demands of fatherhood.
Five years later, Matt and Maddy are doing well, but the loss of a wife and mother still shapes their lives. As Matt considers family, dating, and his commitment to his daughter, he must decide what it means to move forward together.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means FATHERHOOD is highly successful as entertainment. It is equal parts funny, compelling, and heartfelt, with emotional moments that humanize the reality many families face when loss enters their lives.
The casting is very good. Kevin Hart gives Matt dramatic weight, while Alfre Woodard brings strength and feeling as his mother-in-law, Marian. The film’s emotional heart, humor, and compelling performances make its family story land.
The Worldview
FATHERHOOD presents a strong moral worldview centered on family commitment, perseverance, staying the course when life becomes difficult, and providing for one’s children despite hardship. These themes align with biblical concern for faithful responsibility and sacrificial care within a family. The film also includes a church scene, a few “Thank Gods,” and a mention of God’s plan.
The movie includes politically correct elements in its treatment of the protagonist’s daughter wanting to wear pants at her Catholic school, with the schoolteachers portrayed as villains for trying to stop her. That element departs from the film’s otherwise positive emphasis on family responsibility.
The film’s central longing is for a family to endure loss and remain committed to one another. Scripture calls believers to share such burdens: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Strong moral worldview highlights the power of family commitment, staying the course when times get tough and providing for one’s children, despite hardships, plus there’s a scene in a church and a few “Thank Gods” and a mention of God’s plan,” some politically correct liberal elements come into play when a young girl wants to wear pants at a Catholic school and the schoolteachers are portrayed as the villains for wanting her to do so
Foul Language
About 30 obscenities, one JC profanity, one swear to God profanity, and conversations about diapers and such things
Violence
Implied C-section (not depicted though), man hits a clown in the face out of fear, and young girl falls on the jungle gym and cuts her head, blood depicted
Sex
Implied fornication between a dating couple, implied fornication in a cartoon and some sexual innuendo
Nudity
Upper male nudity in one scene
Alcohol Use
Social drinking and a scene in a bar
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Comedic lying, name calling, some bullying, and mention of playing poker.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Matt faces fatherhood after devastating loss. Where can families find strength when they feel unable to continue?
Psalm 46:1 · 2 Corinthians 1:3–4Matt receives help from family, friends, and a parenting support group. Why can accepting help be an important part of faithful responsibility?
Galatians 6:2 · Ecclesiastes 4:9–10The film emphasizes providing for one’s children despite hardship. What does faithful provision include beyond money?
1 Timothy 5:8 · Ephesians 6:4Matt must consider how grief affects his relationship with Maddy. How can families speak honestly about sorrow while continuing to hope?
Romans 12:15 · 1 Thessalonians 4:13The Final Word
FATHERHOOD is funny, compelling, heartfelt, and well performed. Its strong moral themes come with too much profanity and sexual content for children or young teens. For discerning adults, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For family-friendly alternatives, see.
