About My Father
Rated PG 13
Comedy
Lionsgate
Some people want to go to the theatre and they want comfort. Nothing surprising, nothing new, just familiar faces and storylines. If you or someone you know relates to that statement, then this film is probably for you. We have a father/son duo played by Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro. They are two Italian men who grew up working hard, following traditions and putting family first. Sabastian meets the woman of his dreams who is from an entirely different world. Her family is well known and very wealthy. Sabastian wants his grandmother's ring so he can propose to his girlfriend, but his father has a condition that he must meet his girlfriend Ellie's, played by Leslie Bibb, family before he will hand over the ring. They all go off to Ellies families vacation home for the 4th of July and of course, when they get there the two families, being so different, have some funny issues and back and forth happen. The Ellies family is played by some pretty funny people, (Kim Cattrall, Anders Holm, Brett Dier, David Rasche).
Now I do want to let you know that Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco not only stars in this film, he also co-writes it. So, it has his flair. If you have seen his comedy specials and you like his style, you will defiantly have some laugh out loud moments. As a woman who grew up with an Italian family all over the place, I related to a lot of this film. That being said, this movie is pretty predictable and bland. They try and make each family have some eccentric moments and corks, but by today's standers, it's.... kind of normal hahaha. If you would have made this movie back when "Meet the Fockers" came out (has the same feel) it may have felt a little funnier and original. I do think there is an audience for this, but they probably won't but under the age of 35 and it really is not a strong movie for Memorial Weekend. It defiantly has a target audience, and for non-nonsense movie goers age 40-80, it is a good time. It would have been better opening for a streaming network. This is defiantly a no brainer, watch at home in your pj's kind of movie.
Garde B- (It could have been a C+, but I have an affinity for legitimate Italian had gestures and the humorous use of "goombah. )
Director: Laura Terruso
Producer: Andrew Miano, Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz, Judi Marmel
Writer: Austen Earl, Sebastian Maniscalco
Release Date (Theaters): May 26, 2023 Wide
Runtime: 1h 29m
Distributor: Lionsgate
Production Co: Depth of Field, Lionsgate
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1