About the film (courtesy of Lionsgate):
The film centers around Sebastian (Maniscalco) who is encouraged by his fiancée (Leslie Bibb) to bring his immigrant, hairdresser father, Salvo (Robert De Niro), to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric family (Kim Cattrall, Anders Holm, Brett Dier, David Rasche). The weekend develops into what can only be described as a culture clash, leaving Sebastian and Salvo to discover that the great thing about family is everything about family.
Sebastian Maniscalco has had a very successful career as a stand up comic which has leveraged into a budding film career. Thanks to Maniscalco’s hard work and perseverance, he is now starring in a feature film in which he also cowrote and stars alongside the great Robert De Niro. The pair previously worked together in The Irishman (2019), but Maniscalco is more or less calling the shots this time rather than being shot. About My Father has the makings of a potential sleeper surprise.
Director Laura Terruso brings together a talented cast and makes the most out of a pretty prototypical comedy by allowing those to excel at what they do best. Sebastian Maniscalco plays a very similar version of his on stage persona that has garnered countless laughs show after show in his stand up performances. This all tracks since About My Father is loosely based on his life and why his character shares his exact name, Sebastian Maniscalco.
To this day, it still impresses me that Robert De Niro is as effective as he is in a comedic role that he has really settled into later in his career. De Niro’s timing is on point and pretty much matches Maniscalco blow for blow throughout this very brisk 89 minute sprint from start to finish. Yet, the more surprising part of About My Father is the heartfelt emotions witnessed as father and son explore a lifetime of up and down experiences.
These two main stars don’t do it alone. Leslie Bibb as Sebastian’s love interest, Kim Cattrall as her mother, David Rasche as her dad, Anders Holm and Brett Dier playing her brothers with polar opposite personalities – it’s this variety of characterization that keeps About My Father fresh and full of laughs from start to finish. While some of the language and content aren’t necessarily for the young ones, the film does a pretty good job of keeping things respectable overall.
About My Father is a good choice if you’re looking for a lighthearted fun time out at the movie theater this weekend. It’s definitely worth serious consideration. You can see it only in theaters starting Friday, May 26th with early showings Thursday evening.
