Heinz Wittmer (Daniel Brühl) moved to Eden (2025) for his son; Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) sent messages to his daughter in Nuremberg (2025) and Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) sang to his kids in Song Sung Blue (2025).
How Chicagoans celebrate their dads or baby daddies on Father’s Day (June 21) is up to them. But those interested in watching paternal pics can check out this list of semi-recent flicks to stream or miss.
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Is This Thing On?
Directed by Bradley Cooper, who wrote the screenplay with Will Arnett and Mark Chappell
Free to Hulu and Disney+ subscribers
While not as ambitious in scale as A Star is Born (2018) and Maestro (2023), Is This Thing On? (2025) marks an important departure for filmmaker Bradley Cooper as he takes a supporting role rather than the lead in a modest dramedy that sidesteps bells and whistles. With a lower profile and budget, Cooper’s disciplined work will ultimately benefit him on future projects. That’s not to say he doesn’t make the most of his ensemble part as does Andra Day. At the film’s center is Will Arnett as an aspiring stand-up comedian navigating fatherhood after an amicable divorce from his wife (Laura Dern). As he cares for his sons (Blake Kane, Calvin Knegten), his father (Ciarán Hinds) looks after him in a subtle way, providing the 121-minute movie with its truest moments.
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Happy Gilmore 2
Directed by Kyle Newacheck; written by Adam Sandler
Free to Netflix subscribers
The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) are among the very few sequels that measure up to the original, though Happy Gilmore 2 (2025) is happy to give it a go. In a stroke of fate, Happy (Adam Sandler) sees his wife (Julie Bowen) die in a fluke accident. As such, the unhappy widower gives up golf and picks up drinking while raising five children. But when his daughter (Sandler’s real life daughter Sunny Sandler) needs tuition for ballet school, Happy finds his drive. Along the way, the callback comedy includes cameos by Bad Bunny, Ben Stiller, Benny Safdie, Eminem, Marcello Hernandez, and Reggie Bush to help pad its predictable script.
Marty Supreme
Directed by Josh Safdie, who wrote the screenplay with Ronald Bronstein
Free to HBO Max subscribers
Like the Amy Heckerling rom-coms Look Who’s Talking (1989) and Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), Josh Safdie’s dramedy Marty Supreme (2025) begins with footage of a sperm fertilizing an egg. Per this visual concept, it’s clear the titular table tennis player (Timothée Chalamet) will become a father. But his 2-hour and 30-minute journey from Manhattan shoe salesman to World Champ dad is filled with frustrating diversions that include a superfluous flashback of a minor character’s irrelevant past and a dog of a subplot that goes nowhere. Although the Safdie Brothers’ unpredictable scripts added twists to Good Times (2017) and Uncut Gems (2019), the constant detours in this gimmicky thrill ride become tedious. Nevertheless, the 1950s setting is interesting and the performances by Chalamet and Gwyneth Paltrow are first rate.
Rental Family
Directed by Hikari, who wrote the screenplay with Stephen Blahut
Free to Hulu and Disney+ subscribers
In addition to the National Board of Review ranking Rental Family (2025) one of the year’s Top 10 Films, Hikari received the Chicago International Film Festival’s Spotlight Award. Perhaps those giving out accolades were charmed by Brendan Fraser as a struggling American actor trying to eke out a living in Japan. But those who aren’t fans of Fraser’s pathetic persona may be creeped out by a guy getting paid to pose as a girl’s (Shannon Mahina Gorman) father. The plot’s premise is similar to a bit on The King of Queens (Season 6, Episode 10) wherein a real estate gig has Carrie (Leah Remini) pretending to be the mom of a family—only the classic sitcom is more comedic and less cloying than this 110-minute dramedy.
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Jay Kelly
Directed by Noah Baumbach, who wrote the screenplay with Emily Mortimer
Free to Netflix subscribers
“Stars—they’re just like us!” is the seeming sentiment of Jay Kelly (2025), a navel-gazing film about the film industry. Beneath the paparazzi and privilege, the titular movie star (George Clooney) regrets neglecting his daughters (Riley Keough, Grace Edwards) in favor of fame and fortune. But hey, he’s an aging genius so it’s all okay. He doesn’t have to be accountable for his actions, nor does Noah Baumbach for making a humorless comedy. Since writing the blockbuster Barbie with Greta Gerwig, the filmmaker has lost the sharp bite of his more authentic flicks: Kicking and Screaming (1995), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Margot at the Wedding (2007), While We’re Young (2014), and The Meyerowitz Stories (2017). This collaboration with actress Emily Mortimer is a pale imitation of Woody Allen’s underrated black comedy Deconstructing Harry (1997). But where Allen is brutally self-referential, Baumbach’s unearned conceit seems self-aggrandizing. Apart from Adam Sandler’s portrayal of an underappreciated manager and father (to real life daughter Sadie Sandler), there’s not much to say about this 2-hour and 12-minute pic, except it could easily cut 20 minutes.
Sentimental Value
Directed by Joachim Trier, who wrote the screenplay with Eskil Vogt
Free to Hulu and Disney+ subscribers
“Stars—they’re just like us!” is a sentiment of little value in Sentimental Value (2025), a self-indulgent film about the film industry. Beneath the paparazzi and privilege, a movie icon (Stellan Skarsgård) regrets exploiting his daughters (Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) in pursuit of fame and fortune. But hey, he’s an aging genius so it’s all okay. He doesn’t have to be accountable for his actions, nor does Joachim Trier for making a drama that’s more pretentious than profound. Of course, this didn’t stop the Academy from lavishing it with nine Oscar nominations including ones for both Best Picture and Best International Feature Film. Such double-dipping nods are more reflective of award show lethargy than innovative merit. Apart from the World War II film clips within the film, there’s not much to say about this 2-hour and 13-minute pic, except it could easily cut 20 minutes.