About My Father

About My Father
Starring Sebastian Maniscalco, Robert De Niro, Leslie Bibb, Kim Cattrall
Directed by Laura Terruso

The family dynamic is unique in the fact that there's no two families that are exactly the same. While most families consist of grandparents, parents, kids, aunts, and so on, their personalities, histories, cultures, and even biases make them something wholly different than anyone else. It's typical for families to bicker and argue, and to even embarrass one another, but in the end, the family unit exists to make each other better, and for the previous generations to leave something for future generations to make them better off than they were (at least in healthy families, sadly some families are missing this crucial piece). In a way that's why these type of comedies work: you can picture yourself in the situation, going through the unintentional embarrassment that your family dishes out, but in the end understand that they're only out for your own interests, and something gets lost in the generational transition.

Sebastian Maniscalco (Sebastian Maniscalco) is an Italian-American living in Chicago with his widowed father Salvo (Robert De Niro) and working at a hotel chain. One day he meets Ellie (Leslie Bibb) and falls in love, and after dating for a while he wants to marry her - but he needs his grandmother's wedding ring that Salvo has, and he won't give it up until he meets Ellie's family to see if Sebastian is going to marry into a healthy family dynamic. So during a Fourth of July celebration, they bring Salvo to Ellie's family estate for the weekend, where they meet her wealthy parents Bill (David Rasche) and Tigger (Kim Cattrall), as well as her snooty older brother Lucky (Anders Holm) and stoner brother Doug (Brett Dier). As the weekend develops Sebastian worries that Salvo's unique view on family and their culture will clash with Ellie's well-to-do parents, and through a series of embarrassing moments worries that Ellie might not want to marry him by the end of the weekend.

The Good:
Sebastian Maniscalco is one of the best stand-up comedians out there, focusing his humor on personal family experiences, especially concerning his immigrant father. It's  refreshing to have a comedian who focuses on real life experiences and turns them into comedy rather than someone who tries to use as many curse words and sexual innuendos as they can and pass it off as comedy, because you have a deeper connection to the comedian with that style.

The film is stereotypical in the familial aspect, focusing on the painful experience that most people face: meeting the potential in-laws. It's only heightened because of the social class difference: Sebastian's family comes from poor, hard-working history while Ellie's ancestors came on the Mayflower and live in the lap of WASP luxury. Of course if this dynamic wasn't there, there wouldn't be a movie, and thankfully it plays off well enough that it's not just crickets during the humor (although there were some dry moments).

Robert De Niro is an interesting actor in that he's won a few Academy Awards, has starred in some of the most memorable films in the last century, and yet he still relegates himself to cheap family comedy films. "Dirty Grandpa," "The Intern," and "The War With Grandpa" are some of these examples where he seems to lower his standards and appear in them, if not begrudgingly (or it could just be his natural facial expressions). While I thought that this would be another one of those films, I was pleasantly surprised by how average I found it to be, and De Niro really allows himself to be immersed in the role and really let loose and have fun.

In a day and age where every film seemingly has to be at least two hours long, it was really refreshing to see "About My Father" is only 90 minutes long, which allows it to not overstay its welcome but provide just enough emotional heft and comedic moments to keep you entertained for the time - but it won't be something you'll remember fondly later on. Still, as it is, it's actually better than I expected.

The comedy style of the film hearkened back to the classic comedies of the 80s and 90s, focusing more on slapstick, familial humor rather than a long line of curse words that somehow make people laugh. It also pokes fun at stereotypes and actually has some truly laugh-out-loud moments, especially concerning a peacock and burying a dead body, which is always good for a laugh. Yet hidden in the comedy is the universal aspect of family, and even though they embarrass you, they only have your best interest at heart, which shows with the relationship not just between Sebastian and Salvo, but Ellie and her parents as well - which is refreshing because, usually, the stiff wealthy parents are cold and standoffish. Here, they're relatable and fun, and don't really seem to hold their wealth over Sebastian and Salvo's heads - well, they do, but not in a way that comes off as snooty.


The Bad:
It's not necessarily bad, but the overall feel of the film is very average. It doesn't attempt to strive for something better, and doesn't demean itself to be something lower - it exists, it's got some truly funny moments, a heartfelt message, and capable acting: but nothing really sticks out for better or worse.


The Summary:
While it's not going to be something you'll die to re-watch, "About My Father" is an average comedy that highlights the ups and downs of family and delivers an adequate comedy that highlights those aspects that pretty much every person can relate to.


The Score: B-