Father’s Day is upon us, which means it is time for dads everywhere to sip from their #1 DAD mugs, even if they know deep within their hearts that they’re probably more like Top 10, maybe Top 15. But while there are countless great dads in real life, the supply of great Dad Movies is more limited, especially with so many of their greatest champions making DTV movies or self-financing eleven-part western epics that will never be finished. But in the spirit of sports, which I’m told is something some other dads quite enjoy, let’s turn this into a competition. Which recent movie star is the true Dad Movie champion?
First, let’s establish some ground-rule eliminations. Matt Damon and Christian Bale have starred in perhaps the Dadliest movie of the past decade, 2019’s Ford v. Ferrari. It makes our recent list of Dad Movies Through the Ages, handily, and Damon in particular has become a later-period patron saint of the Dad Movie with the Bourne movies, Stillwater, Air, and an working relationship with Christopher Nolan. But he and Bale still lean a bit more on the side of prestige pictures than Dad Movie pulp. For that matter, Damon’s pal Ben Affleck makes a lot of Dad-friendly pictures, but he gives off a divorced vibe that is probably accurate but also not particularly simpatico with a lot of dads’ self-image. Jason Statham and other action heroes don’t do enough historical stuff to qualify. Plus, there’s a certain faded-megastar quality that makes for the perfect Dad Movie star – someone who was far from niche at their peak, and is still a well-recognized name, but has leaned more into a certain type of movie in their later middle age.
As such, your current Dad Movie contenders are determined to be Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, Russell Crowe, and Gerard Butler. Let them fight!
Our Call: With the western-appearance bonus points, it’s really between Crowe and Costner. Does Crowe lose cred for not being American? Is Costner the only contemporary movie star you could accuse of being in too many westerns?! Does Crowe gain points for being cooler than Mel Gibson, while Costner loses them for being not as cool as Clint Eastwood? Ultimately, dads have to pick the guy who works best for them. But Crowe might be the surprise champion here. Maybe spend your Father’s Day watching The Water Diviner while standing up off to the side of the TV.
Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn podcasting at www.sportsalcohol.com. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others.