About My Father2023

De Niro, bless his heart, is the engine that keeps this refurbished jalopy puttering along for 90 minutes.

IN A NUTSHELL: When Sebastian tells his old-school Italian immigrant father, Salvo, that he is going to propose to his all-American girlfriend, Salvo has trouble fitting into the family. The comedy was directed by Laura Terruso. Writing credits go to Austen Earl and the popular comedian himself: Sebastian Maniscalco. THINGS I LIKED: Academy Award-winner Robert De Niro and comic Sebastian Maniscalco make the perfect father/son combo in this movie and had great chemistry together. I loved the pair in this movie. Robert De Niro was awesome and funny, as expected. He’s one of those rare actors that can do drama and comedy equally well. We even get to hear him speak Italian. I’ve always enjoyed Sebastian Maniscalco’s stand-up comedy shows and physical-comedy schtick, so I’m thrilled to see him in a movie. I hope we get more. It was interesting to see him give his character his own name, probably because he revealed that he got his writing inspiration from his real-life Italian father, whom he often talks about in his stand-up bits. Other cast members include Leslie Bigg, Kim Cattrall, David Rasche, Anders Holm, and Brett Dier. While their characters are extremely stereotyped, I thought they all did a great job with their roles. With all of Hollywood’s remakes and superhero sequels, it’s nice to see a script about something new and lighthearted. TONS of visual humor, especially in the beginning as funny images and narration provide a helpful background story. We get to see a little bit of Sicily, Italy in video clips and photos. I’ve been to Italy several times but never Sicily…yet! Lots of entertaining flashbacks. If you’re a fan of Queer Eye, you’ll get a kick out of Jonathan Van Ness’ cameo. I loved the cologne walk-through that the father and son did together a few times as they were getting dressed to go out. THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE: The story has been done many times over, but I still thought it was cute. Some of the conversations, reactions, and situations are absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic. It’s hard to feel sorry for a rich, beautiful girl when she throws her tantrum. Some viewers may not like the narrative style of the film; however, I thought it matched Sebastian’s stand-up content and made the storytelling more charming and funny. The plot is definitely formulaic and predictable. Animal lovers: beware! The humor is cliched and doesn’t always stick the landing. TIPS FOR PARENTS: We see a naked rear end of a man Crude conversations about male anatomical body parts People smoke cigars and drink a lot of champagne

Director Laura Terruso overlooks several comedic opportunities in About My Father. It’s as though she’s working from a script that’s been edited by someone who got the situations but not the jokes.