Movie Review: About My Father (2023)

Genre: Comedy  

Director: Laura Terruso  

Starring: Robert De Niro, Sebastian Maniscalco, Leslie Bibb, Kim Cattrall  

Running Time: 89 minutes  

Synopsis: In Chicago, Sebastian (Sebastian Maniscalco) grew up close to his father Salvo (Robert De Niro), a humble but proud hairstylist and immigrant from Sicily. Now Sebastian has fallen love with Ellie (Leslie Bibb), who comes from a wealthy WASPy family. Father and son are both invited to stay at the luxurious estate of Ellie's parents (Kim Cattrall and David Rasche) for the July 4th weekend. Sebastian plans to propose, but Salvo resents his son drifting away from his Italian heritage, and a culture clash ensues.

What Works Well: Loosely based on the life experiences of comedian and co-writer/co-star Sebastian Maniscalco, this comedy benefits most from Robert De Niro's grizzled presence. He runs through the gamut of facial expressions to convey disdain for the haughty world of the rich and his son's decision to shuffle away from his roots. Elsewhere, the comedy is sometimes amiable enough to generate a few laughs.   

What Does Not Work As Well: The over-narrated and over-gesticulated material is predictable and unfortunately sometimes quite dumb, trying but failing to squeeze juice out of exhausted and simplistic us-versus-them themes. Ellie and her parents are blank vanilla characters, and for a grown man Salvo's uncouth behaviour (making a scene at a restaurant, dismissing tennis as an activity, serving a beloved pet for dinner, improvising a haircut) often blows past funny and towards idiotic.

Key Quote:

Salvo: I just hope nothing gets stolen this weekend because these people love to blame the immigrants.

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.