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Director Paul Weitz's career as a filmmaker has such an interesting trajectory. His first film, the 1999 teen sex comedy "American Pie" was a hit back in the day - it remains one of the better films of the genre, but like most things from the 90s, probably hasn't aged entirely well. He has gone on to make a variety of different movies from the charming "About a Boy" to the dreadful third installment in the "Meet the Parents" series "Little Fockers." His 2015 movie "Grandma" was one of the great and deeply underappreciated movies of that year, providing Lily Tomlin with a starring role that many people haven't given her in a long time. Now Weitz is back in the director's chair with "Fatherhood," a bland, namby-pamby dramedy whose sole purpose is to legitimize Kevin Hart as a serious actor.

We typically know what we are in for when Hart is front-and-center in the movie. He usually plays a fast-talking, scheming leading man and some of that persona inevitably surfaces in "Fatherhood," but his performance here is significantly more toned down. Does he pull off one of his first attempts to be a more serious actor? Sure; but Hart leapt from funny supporting player ("Think Like a Man" and "About Last Night") to a ubiquitous comedy superstar, and eventually along the way his schtick became tired. It will be up each person who watches the movie to determine if they can take him seriously in a softer role.

Hart plays Matt, who is faced with the unimaginable when his wife Liz (Deborah Ayorinde) passes away after giving birth to their baby daughter. Matt isn't prepared for parenthood (he promised he would set up the baby's crib, but still hasn't on the day his wife is told she needs to have a C-section), let alone going at it by himself. His mother Anna (Thedra Porter) and mother-in-law Marian (Alfre Woodard) insist on sticking around to make sure Matt knows what he's doing. He knows he's in way over his head but ensures them he's got this.

"Fatherhood," especially in the beginning, jumps around in time a bit so it feels chaotic in finding its footing, but the movie eventually settles into its story when Matt's daughter Maddy (Melody Hurd) is school-aged, and he tries to navigate the day-to-day changes of having a daughter. Meanwhile, he tries to make time for himself with his friends (Lil Rel Howery and Anthony Carrigan), keep up with his job, and maybe even start dating again (which provides the movie with one glaring, eye-roll-inducing contrivance).

Weitz co-wrote the screenplay with Dana Stevens and the script has a decent balance of heart and humor, but at just under two hours, "Fatherhood" doesn't have much new to say for a movie about parenting under tragic circumstances. Some might take issue with the movie's attempt to soften Hart's imagine after his Oscar host debacle a few years back, but the movie lives by his chemistry with Hurd. The film, as a whole, lifelessly plods along, hitting each predictable step in its path, and by the end one can only muster a shrug.

"Fatherhood" debuts on Netflix June 18.