‘Breadwinner’ a lackluster showcase for comedian Bargatze
Published 11:43 am Friday, May 29, 2026
Nate Bargatze stars in a scene from “The Breadwinner.” (Courtesy Sony Pictures)
Stand-up comedians transitioning to film is a tale as old as time.
While the road from stage to screen isn’t always a direct line, everyone from Steve Martin to Richard Pryor to Eddie Murphy have made that transition.
So it is no surprise that Nate Bargatze is the next to try his hand. One of the hottest comedians working — the highest grossing comic act in 2024 — Bargatze gets the chance to show he has what it takes to make that leap.
Unfortunately, his first film “The Breadwinner,” which he co-wrote with Dan Lagana, is not the best way to introduce yourself to film audiences. This lifeless comedy is more of a series of cobbled together bits than a feature film.
In a huge stretch Bargatze plays Nate, a father of three who is the top salesman at a local car dealership. Nate’s wife Katie (Mandy Moore, criminally underused) is the stay at home mom, who has created an invention designed to help a mother keep track of all the family’s activities.
The invention winds up on “Shark Tank” with Lori Greiner agreeing to back Kate, but only if Nate will run the household while she gets the product off the ground.
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Nate agrees and from there “The Breadwinner” evolves into one contrived comic situation after another with the new stay at home dad having to balance cooking and cleaning with raising his three daughters (Stella Grace Fitzgerald, Birdie Borria and Charlotte Ann Tucker).
This all plays out like a pale imitation of “Mr. Mom” — the 1980s comedy that vaulted Michael Keaton into leading man status. That film had its flaws, playing out basically like a TV sit com, but Keaton, Terri Garr and John Hughes as the screenwriter was basically enough to lift the material to a likable level.
“The Breadwinner” is more about throwing a bunch of cameos out there along with some blatant product placement (A sequence in Wal-Mart might as well just be a mid-movie ad).
The cameos current and former “Saturday Night Live” cast members — with Will Forte’s roofer the one bright spot and Colin Jost as another dad embarrassingly bad — and an OK turn from (Kumail Nanjiani) as Nate’s work rival but most of this is put on Bargatze’s shoulders. He’s just not a credible leading man, lacking the screen presence to allow any of these potential comic situations to play out.
A lot of these comic situations come up again during the closing credits, with clips from Bargatze’s stand-up combined with outtakes. The stand-up bits, which as it turns out serves as most of the film’s comic moments, are way funnier than anything in the previous 90 minutes of the film.
The end credit clips only strengthen the argument that Bargatze probably needs to stick to comedy shows. That’s not to say he has no future in films, but more of the sidekick, supporting role than a leading man.
Grade: D+
About Micheal Compton
I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.
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