About My Father, a generic family comedy that doesn’t have the legs to keep up with the summer
blockbusters film.
The film follows Sebastian Maniscalco, a well-established hotel associate who is happy where he is at in
life. A good job, his girlfriend Ellie (Leslie Bibb) whom he wants to marry, and a somewhat typical
relationship with his father, Salvo (Robert DeNiro). Encouraged by his fiancée, a man, and his father
spend the weekend with her wealthy and exceedingly eccentric family. The gathering soon develops into
a culture clash, allowing father and son to discover the true meaning of family.
About My Father is based on Maniscalco’s life. The film has the vibe of a previous film that DeNiro
starred in, Meet The Parent, but does separate itself to be as stand out as that film. David Rasche,
Ander Holms and Kim Cattrall round out the rest of the cast. The performances of the film are well but
not enough to help it further.
The main thing about this film that helps out is the running time of 89 mins. The films get to where it
needs to go, with gags and joke to help the pacing of the film. What hurts the film is that Maniscalco
doesn’t separate himself as the character of the story but more of a storytelling within a comedy stand-up
special.
Overall, Sebastian Maniscalco’s first outing fails to stand out as a comedy film that people will talk about. If
you are looking for a comedy that is good for a family with teenagers and not a packed theater of a
summer blockbuster film, About My Father, is one worth checking out.
About My Farther is in theaters now.