By Marc S. Sanders
Robert DeNiro meets the parents! Though it’s not what you’re thinking, probably.
Comedian Sebastian Maniscalco co-writes and stars as a proud Italian named (what else?) Sebastian in a heartwarming, sometimes raunchy script, loosely inspired by the relationship he might have had with his real, Sicilian, immigrant father who specialized in hairdressing. DeNiro is Sebastian’s father, Salvo.
The crux of this fiction is a clash of white, WASP entitled folks meeting the father/son goombahs. The voiceover narrative from Sebastian informs us of the passionate love he has for Ellie (Leslie Bibb), a sunny and hyperactive artistic painter whose main focus consists of vaginas on canvas, but she’ll insist that if you look at them sideways, you’ll see sunsets. He’s so crazy about Ellie that he asks Salvo for grandma’s engagement ring to propose. Salvo insists on meeting the girl’s parents first.
Things eventually lead to Sebastian and Salvo traveling to the girl’s family estate in Virginia during the 4th of July weekend. Tigger is mom, a hard talking, probably Republican with a flair of Hillary Clinton, state senator played by Kim Cattrall. David Rasche is Bill (his name would have to be Bill), a happy go lucky owner of one of the world’s most prestigious hotel chains. Ellie has two siblings – snooty son Lucky (Anders Holm) and free thinker, modern day hippie Doug (Brett Dier).
As the arrival commences, we see a flock of peacocks, a dog, a tree house, and a helicopter ride. Plus, remember that Salvo is a hair dresser. I presume I don’t need to share the punchlines. You know what you can expect.
I turned About My Father on following a play rehearsal that wrapped early. It’s less than an hour and a half. I was tired of watching Netflix crime documentaries and Seinfeld reruns. I’d be done with this flick by 10:30 just before bed, and that’s good enough. Yet, it’s a happy accident I randomly pulled this movie out of the streaming heap.
Laura Terruso is a first-time director, only the fourth female to oversee a film with Robert DeNiro, and she does impressive work. The entire cast is adoring. No one is that standard jerk you are instructed to hate. The material is light and as Maniscalco’s story proceeds you really want everything to work out for both sides.
The comedian’s script, co-written with Austen Earl, is not perfect. An issue with Ellie’s profession does not get a satisfying resolution. I also believe that after the voiceover set up narration from Maniscalco was done, it should have stayed done. The movie is so simple that we really don’t need his narrative to intrude any longer. Act the developments. That’s better than telling us about it.
I’ve seen the guy’s stand up routine and his schtick is to lay on the Italian dialect really thick. So much to the point that he’d make the first round of auditions for Goodfellas but get sent away on the call back. It’s too much. Behind a microphone on a stage the bit might work, but when he’s playing a real character with heart, feelings, anger, and embarrassment it becomes too far upstaged.
Fortunately, Robert DeNiro is delivering an outstanding and authentic comedic performance, up there with Midnight Run and Analyze This. Not since his portrayal of Vito Corleone have I heard him work so much of his Sicilian fluency for the language into a character. Salvo is over the top with his habits of being frugal with a menu or inflexible with Sebastian’s pleas, but this guy is totally authentic, believable all the way until the end, even when he poses for a family Christmas card in a silly get up. DeNiro is doing more than being funny. He’s ensuring the Italian/Sicilian culture is acknowledged and respected.
Rasche and Cattrall, with the sons, offer the white privilege humor. The subtleties are deliberately absent and there’s at least a half dozen sources of gags to come out of them beginning with the family’s matching, embroidered pajamas. They’re funnier than I anticipated and actually endearing despite their naivety. Cattrall got a highly undeserved Razzie nomination for worst supporting actress. (I hate the Razzies! They offer nothing but cruelty.) Rasche is doing a new variant of a blue blood Mr. Howell.
Leslie Bibb’s character is written smarter with far more likability than Teri Polo’s girlfriend in Meet The Parents. She’s not the ignorant jerk that Ben Stiller had to endure during an agonizing weekend. Bibb as Ellie always cares about Sebastian’s well-being along with Salvo’s comfort while still loving her own family. Incredible! A family comedy with clashes and conflicts and no one deserves to get kicked to the curb. These folks just gotta find a common ground to live with one another.
About My Father either could have been a little longer to better flesh out the situations of these characters, or replace the voiceover material, that overstays its welcome, with more character interaction and reflection.
Despite its formula, it’s a welcome surprise with lots of good comedy, especially from Robert DeNiro.
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 