Fatherhood: Kevin Hart is surprising a lot of people thanks to new Netflix film

‘Hopefully he does more films like this,’ one user says

Kevin Hart is surprising a lot of Netflix users thanks to his new film.

Last week saw the release of Fatherhood, a new comedy-drama from About a Boy co-director Paul Weitz. It follows a new father who struggles to raise his daughter after his wife suddenly dies.

Adapted from Matthew Logelin’s book, Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love, the film is leaving a lot of people feeling emotional – something viewers never expected from a film starring the comedian Hart.

“Who would’ve thought I’d be crying like this over a Kevin Hart movie,” one person wrote, with another adding: “Fatherhood on Netflix surprised me, hopefully Kevin Hart does more films like this.”

One viewer added: “Fatherhood is SO good. I never thought I’d like Kevin Hart in a serious role but he’s so good.”

The film, which was originally set for a cinema release, has shot to the top of the Netflix charts over its first weekend of release.

It was acquired by the streaming service after several delays due to the pandemic.

Netflix has done quite well from the closure of cinemas – last month, the service released The Woman in the Window, an Amy Adams thriller that proved a huge hit for the service despite negative reviews.

Kevin Hart in Netflix film ‘Fatherhood’ (Netflix)

The film marks Hart’s first major role since he stepped down from the Oscars due to resurfaced tweets that expressed homophobic views. Hart, who previously apologised for the messages, has since spoken out against the idea of “cancel culture”.

Due to this, the comedian’s critics have questioned whether he intentionally accepted the role as “reputation rehab”.

In the film, Hart’s character has a gender non-conforming daughter, of whom he is shown to be extremely supportive. The Guardian described his role as “saintly”.

Speaking about the controversy surrounding his tweets, Hart recently told The Sunday Times: “You’re looking at a younger version of myself. A comedian trying to be funny and, at that attempt, failing. Apologies were made. I understand now how it comes off. I look back and cringe. So it’s growth. It’s about growth.”

Fatherhood is available to stream on Netflix now – find our review here.