Cool Daddy

Maybe your dad was cool. Or maybe you are a “cool dad.” The phrase “cool dad” has gained a kind of currency in recent years to describe fathers that haven’t let parenthood stand in the way of being cool. But what if your dad was too cool?

Kenny Colman is a legendary Canadian jazz crooner and perhaps the ultimate cool dad. His successes include major record deals, his own TV show, the admiration of Frank Sinatra, and gigs around the world. Kenny’s biggest worry today is not his dwindling money and health, though: it is his forty-three-year-old son Chase, who has decided to leave behind his real estate career to follow in his father’s musical footsteps. Kenny thinks his son is crazy to try his hand at show business, especially at mid-life, but he is torn between trying to help his son and trying to stop him. After years of neglect, is this the time for Kenny to finally be supportive?

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Kenny Colman was one of Canada’s best jazz singers ever
‘It’s never too late’: A son follows in the footsteps of his famous jazz singer father

The film follows the pairs tortured yet intimate relationship against the backdrop of Kenny’s declining health, and Chase’s musical aspirations. Chase, still wounded from his father’s mistreatment of him as a child, tries to resist the allure of the cool, toxic, and often destructive brand of masculinity his father still represents. Ultimately, Cool Daddy showcases a man who never quite grew up, and the intricate and tangled legacy he leaves behind.