Nate Bargatze Stars in ‘The Breadwinner’ First Look with Mandy Moore (Exclusive)

Nate Bargatze has his hands full in PEOPLE’s exclusive first look at The Breadwinner.

In his first feature film role, the comedian stars as Nate Wilcox, whose wife Katie (Mandy Moore) scores a major deal after appearing on Shark Tank that requires her to go on an extended business trip.

That means the lifelong breadwinner Nate has to “fend for his family as a first-time stay-at-home dad,” a synopsis teases: “With three young daughters and little experience handling their day-to-day needs, Nate finds out quickly that running the household is the toughest gig he’s ever had.”

Directed by Eric Appel (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), the movie is co-written by Bargatze and Dan Lagana. The cast also features Colin Jost, Zach Cherry, Martin Herlihy, Kate Berlant, Kumail Nanjiani and Will Forte.

Bargatze, 46, tells PEOPLE The Breadwinner is “hilarious, heartwarming and surprising.”

“It’s a throwback to the classic family comedy movies that we all love,” he says. “I think there is a lack of entertainment that is made for entire families. There are so few movies where everyone of all ages can have a good laugh. So I decided to create one myself.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

He adds, “This is a movie with characters everyone can relate to, and it gives families and friends a great reason to go to a theater for an excellent night out.”

The star says he related most to the film’s family dynamics and wholesome chaos. “We have a lot of fun craziness that happens in the movie, but the family feels like a real family,” he shares.

Bargatze, who hosted the Emmy Awards in September, says he took notes from his “professional and skilled” costars, including Moore, 41. “Being my first movie, Mandy and the children had some great advice,” he says, adding, “The kids really helped with me learning how to hit my marks.”

Big Dumb Eyes author Bargatze has been doing standup for over 20 years, and he has hosted Saturday Night Live twice. In May, he told PEOPLE he feels “fortunate” to have been labeled the “‘nicest guy in comedy’ and not something else.”

“It’s nice,” he said at the time. “I’m sure it could be many other things, so it’s a good one to get tagged with.” Still, he added, “I’m not a perfect person.”

“I never tried to market myself as a ‘clean comic’ as a sales tactic,” Bargatze added. “It was just what I was doing. And I like that families can listen to me in the car, or I can see 10-year-olds at my shows. I’m not making comedy for kids, but if they get a laugh at the jokes they do get, I appreciate that.”

The Breadwinner is in theaters March 13.