(Credits: Netflix)

Many believe that Sundays have lost their nostalgic charm with the onset of the digital age. You won’t find people chatting on landlines or board games and puzzles scattered on the living room floor. The sound of dial-up internet connecting in the background has long vanished into thin air. And the fast-forward world has subverted the idea of a lazy afternoon. But for this Sunday, June 15th, Netflix has a weekend watch so good, hidden in plain sight, that a trip down memory lane is absolutely inevitable. The best part? The flick fits the bill of Father’s Day: Fatherhood.

If one could turn back time, Sundays would be spent on quality family time with a stack of VHS tapes. Though the streaming era has made weekends far more independent, with content and entertainment just a swipe away, Fatherhood allows viewers to experience the long-lost nostalgia of Sunday afternoons. However, keep the tissue box handy because Fatherhood brings both emotional and comedic weight for the audience.

For those uninitiated, Fatherhood is Paul Weitz’s comedy-drama film based on Matthew Logelin’s 2011 memoir, Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love. With Kevin Hart in the lead, Fatherhood focuses on a single dad who navigates the challenges of parenting following the unfortunate and sudden death of his wife.

The film begins with a sombre tone, with Liz Logelin’s death from a pulmonary embolism, just after giving birth to her daughter, Maddy.

Why watch Fatherhood this Sunday, on Father’s Day?

Despite the tragedy, Hart, who plays the father, Matt, is determined to raise Maddy. It is a classic characteristic of parenthood, where he already puts her above himself. But both his friends and family are doubtful whether he has the necessary skills or knowledge to do it all alone. Liz’s mother, Marion, intervenes, suggesting Matt the need for a female figure in Maddy’s life, but Matt doesn’t accept the help. Besides, he has a lot on his plate: loss of his wife, a full-time job, and, of course, the struggles of living with the onus of gendered expectations.

Fatherhood doesn’t sugarcoat the difficulties that a single dad faces. And knowing this Sunday is all about the dads, what better way to celebrate than watching a father prove the world wrong? It’s clear that Matt initially has problems, but not for once does the societal burden alter his course of decision. In fact, with the help of fellow parents and friends, he slowly learns his way. Soon, Maddy matures into a bold and tomboyish girl, and Matt begins dating Lizzie, a girl he met through a mutual friend.

Maddy is initially opposed, but eventually hits it off with her. Perhaps, the presence of a female figure resonated somewhere deeply. However, Matt decides to call it quits when he fails to notice the school’s call about Maddy’s injury during an intimate moment with Lizzie. As Matt’s fatherly instincts kick in, he fears that dating at this point in his life could be disastrous for Maddy’s future, but the split, in turn, makes his daughter upset. As they travel to Marion’s home in Minnesota, the absence of a female figure becomes all the more profound.

Matt’s purpose in Fatherhood is simple: to give Maddy the love of a mother and father. However, in Minnesota, when she gets to live in her mother’s room, Matt feels otherwise. All he notices are the changes. Overwhelmed by the fear that Maddy might not know her real mother, he tries his best to make her leave with him. However, Maddy wants to live with the memories of her mother, convincing Matt that he has failed in his purpose.

From the very beginning, the fear of failure is abundantly clear in Matt, having been left all alone to make sense of a life that Liz and he had dreamt together of. His initial unwillingness to move to Minnesota and Maddy’s reaction upon reaching there were watching his fears come alive. Although Matt returns without Maddy, during a trip abroad, he goes into a meltdown, watching glimpses of fatherhood throughout the landscape.

Fatherhood is full of triggers, and this, by far, is the most emotional yet. Matt finally returns by the end of Fatherhood to reunite with Maddy in Minnesota, and the movie has a happy ending. It’s definitely not a fairytale and undeniably a concrete piece of someone’s reality. But that’s what makes it a perfect Father’s Day watch.