About My Father (2023)
The jokes get old a little too fast in Laura Terruso’s About My Father, which relies heavily on Robert De Niro’s comic shtick.
De Niro is most beloved for his more dramatic parts, his gangster movies with Scorsese, his iconic role in The Godfather II, etc. But starting with Midnight Run (1988) he found a comic niche, which he perfected in movies like Analyze This (1999) and Meet The Parents (2000). And which evolved into a formula with diminishing returns in movies like Dirty Grandpa and The War with Grandpa.
And now About My Father, which seems to take its cue from Meet The Parents, but without the element of surprise that turned that Jay Roach movie into a comedy blockbuster.
Once again, De Niro is not the leading man, he basically has a (rather large) supporting turn, but in a comedy that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as he can choose his moments as a proper scene stealer.
The lead role is played by comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, who stars as Sebastian. He wants to introduce his blue collar father Salvo (De Niro), who emigrated from Sicily to Chicago, to his all-American fiancée’s wealthy and eccentric family.
What follows is a culture clash weekend full of misunderstandings before everything is more or less put right and we learn that having a family is the best thing in life.
Apparently Maniscalco based the script on his own experiences, and Salvo on his own dad, which is great, but About My Father still resembles too many other comedies (with or without Robert De Niro) to count as anything remotely original.
Maniscalco tries his best, but he is no Ben Stiller. De Niro does his thing, but Salvo is no Jake Byrnes. So the law of diminishing returns, eh, returns.
The supporting cast includes dependable character actors like Leslie Bibb and David Rasche, and also the one and only Kim Cattrall, who probably wishes Sex and the City never came to an end.
Still, I’m not above a bit of low brow humor myself, and About My Father has plenty of that on offer. So if you go in with modest expectations it is quite possible to enjoy yourself.
Just don’t go in expecting anything more.