Kevin Hart plays the perfect father who raises his daughter on his own in the upcoming "Fatherhood"

kevin hart plays the perfect father who raises his daughter on his own in his upcoming film “Fatherhood” on a deeply emotional level.

In “Fatherhood" Kevin Hart plays a new dad whose wife dies shortly after childbirth and he’s left raising their daughter on his own.“Fatherhood” doesn’t just succeed on that emotional level, it’s also a cut about the rest, thanks to a smart and funny and basically authentic script (director Paul Weitz and Dana Stevens) and Hart’s inspired casting.

The story is based on Matthew Logelin’s memoir, “Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love,” about losing his wife after she gave birth to their daughter. Since its publication 10 years ago, it’s had a few different lives. In the “Fatherhood” movie Kevin Hart plays Matt, a Boston professional with a beautiful wife. The film introduces him at her funeral, before cutting back to how it happened. The script does a good job at introducing you to Matt and Liz “Deborah Ayorinde” and making her more than just a bland stand-in for “wife” while you brace for what’s coming, it’s not about him and his wife but about him “Matt” and his baby daughter “Maddy”. He doesn’t even have time to grieve, and he has already a little human to keep alive.

“Fatherhood” smooths out many of the edges of real life. Money doesn’t seem to be a worry for Matt, he has parents in-laws “Alfre Woodard” who is terrific as his mother-in-law) and she wants to take him and Maddy back to Minnesota, and his early parenting trials are all presented in palatable, bite-sized does. One day is crib set-up. One day she screams a lot…..

The film does a good job balancing the drama with the comedy, however you need to watch it, and is helped by a strong supporting cast, including “Lil Rel Howery" and “Anthony Carrigan” as Matt’s best friends. It’s nice to see Maddy (Melody Hurd) with a personality and point of view and to give Hart someone other than a baby to connect with. It also allows the film to introduce a love interest played by “DeWanda Wise”. You may never be surprised by where “Fatherhood” is going. It’s all done with a good heart. Even the cliché moments are understandable. Sometimes brutal realism is overrated when it comes to newborns in movies.