Film Assessment: ‘About My Father’ is a messy, limp rom-com with Robert De Niro as bait

Summarize this content material to 540 phrases In case you had been to resurrect the drained storyline of a younger couple having to satisfy their companions’ dad and mom and had been trying round for somebody to play the gruff, disapproving future father-in-law, one identify ought to undoubtedly not come out. Robert De Niro.Sure, he’s hysterical as the extraordinary, no-nonsense, overprotective dad who’d make any suitor turned wide-eyed. Sure, he’s good at enjoying the position with the straightest of faces. We all know that as a result of he’s performed it to nice impact in “Meet the Dad and mom.” Many occasions. And but “About My Father” brings out this revered Oscar-winner for a sloppy reprise of that position in a persistently unfunny rom-com that you simply get the distinct feeling may not be in theaters in any respect if he didn’t lend his deadpan glower. Comic Sebastian Maniscalco has co-written and stars on this huge sloppy Italian American kiss about household that not solely leans into stereotypes — working-class Italians on one facet, WASPs on the opposite — however plows the sector with them.Maniscalco performs a Chicago resort supervisor in love with a rustic club-raised artist (performed by the always-smiling Leslie Bibb) who each have a lesson to study concerning the push and pull of blood. “The household isn’t just one factor. It’s every little thing,” is the motto the Maniscalco clan reside by. It will have been a robust message in 1972.Maniscalco’s formative years was constructed on thrift due to his father, Salvo, performed by De Niro, a person who got here to Chicago from Sicily for a greater life and introduced with him a savage work ethic and a chip on his shoulder about wealth. He didn’t purchase his son a skateboard for Christmas, he made a janky one. Why does he love the Fourth of July? “It’s the one vacation you don’t have to purchase a present.”On the opposite facet is the Collins clan, who got here to America on the Mayflower. Mother (Kim Cattrall) is a U.S. senator and pop (David Rasche) is CEO of an expensive resort group. They reside in a gated compound in Maryland with peacocks wandering round. “You must see the home in Aspen,” mother says.The plot activates a July 4th vacation assembly when the Maniscalco father and son go to the girlfriend’s household to suss one another out. Will Salvo be too good? Is he not attempting sufficient? May he be attempting to sabotage his son’s happiness? Is his son pretending to be somebody’s he’s not? Can all this be solved with some pasta and parmesan? Marone!The conflict of cultures is instantly sturdy, largely mocking the kombucha-drinking, monogrammed pajamas-wearing and tennis-playing WASPs. (There’s additionally a Grandma Moses artwork joke for these nonetheless awake. Grandma Moses jokes slay.) The Maniscalcos have their very own quirks, like spritzing cologne at each second. The filmmakers — Laura Terruso directs from a script by Maniscalco and Austen Earl — have the meatballs to border all this as an immigrant story.For individuals who miss “Meet the Dad and mom,” there’s even a scene nearly lifted, as if relying on viewers being dim. The pool volleyball scene from the 2000 film — the place Ben Stiller will get too aggressive and painfully spikes on his girlfriend’s sister — has its equal when Maniscalco hits a tennis ball laborious into his girlfriend’s brother’s torso. “About My Father” isn’t the one comedy vying to be the “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” of 2023. The yr began with Netflix’s “You Individuals,” starring Jonah Hill and Eddie Murphy, and that film, nonetheless flawed, handled race. “About My Father,” is about white folks, and must be about class or privilege, nevertheless it’s not. It’s about embarrassment, denuding any potential depth.Issues sag after which get bizarre on the finish, as this rom-com turns right into a rom-com the place the goal is dad. There’s even a running-to-the-airport scene when the penny drops for Salvo’s son. However you’ll have discovered that this was a money seize lengthy earlier than that.“About My Father,” a Lionsgate launch, is rated PG-13 for “for suggestive materials, language and partial nudity.” Working time: 89 minutes. Half a star out of 4.___MPAA Definition of PG-13: Dad and mom strongly cautioned. Some materials could also be inappropriate for youngsters beneath 13.___Online: https://www.aboutmyfather.movie___Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwitsSHARE:JOIN THE CONVERSATION Anybody can learn Conversations, however to contribute, you ought to be a registered Torstar account holder. If you don’t but have a Torstar account, you’ll be able to create one now (it’s free)Signal InRegisterConversations are opinions of our readers and are topic to the Code of Conduct. The Star
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