About My Father is a 2023 comedy directed by Laura Terruso and written by Austen Earl and Sebastian Maniscalco.

Sebastian is encouraged by his fiancée to bring his immigrant, hairdresser father, Salvo, to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric family. 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.

Starring Sebastian Maniscalco, Robert De Niro, Leslie Bibb, Anders Holm, David Rasche, Brett Dier, and Kim Cattrall.

About My Father made its debut in theaters on May 26th, courtesy of Lionsgate.

THE GOOD

I am always game for a good comedy, and although I’m not super familiar with Sebastian Maniscalco and his stand-up comedy, having Robert De Niro in a leading role piqued my interest. Interestingly enough one of the first movies I reviewed for this site was the raunchy comedy Dirty Grandpa (our full review here) from back in January 2016 where De Niro starred alongside Zac Efron. I remember several older people walking out during the first 5-minutes of the movie after they realized it wasn’t quite what they expected. Although it was pretty ridiculous and very over-the-top, I still enjoyed it so I was more than willing to give About My Father a fair shake. Was it a solid easy to recommend good-hearted comedy or just another film trying to bank on the talents of its cast without much going for it otherwise? Keep reading to find out!

I actually really enjoyed this movie, more than I thought I would honestly. It had a simple yet effective story, great chemistry from the cast, tons of great comedic moments, and a smooth runtime of just over an hour and 30 minutes. What stood out to me most was the chemistry between De Niro and Maniscalco as father and son, but I enjoyed the entire cast and thought everyone did a great job. About My Father never feels too over the top, and the underlying message of the film is something we can all relate to.

About My Father utilizes comedy to shed some light on the significant disconnect between working-class families and their wealthy counterparts. The screenplay is simple and will likely feel familiar, but I really liked how they added the additional layer of the family history element which helped to solidify the significance of never forgetting where you come from. The film opens by giving the necessary background on Maniscalco’s character and his Italian roots, while also touching on the dramatic differences between his ancestors and those of the family he hopes to become a part of. As a parent, you want more than anything else to raise your children to become the best version of yourself, and About My Father is the perfect depiction of that.

The characters feel authentic and well-intentioned, and although the film still has a big focus on comedy it doesn’t take away from the broader message it is trying to convey and I personally appreciated the great balance. One particular scene that resonated with me was a lunch at the families country club where De Niro’s character was questioning why the menu didn’t have any prices on them. Let’s be honest for a second, people that order without even considering the price have more money than they should have, and those of us working-class folk just like to know what we are getting ourselves into. I’m from New England and when you go to dinner if you want certain items on the seafood menu like a lobster roll for example, you will see the note “MKT Price or Market Price” meaning the price fluctuates and you won’t know what that is until the bill comes. I am always so tempted to ask what the price is before ordering to try and avoid heart palpitations when the bill comes. I wish I was kidding, but the struggle is real ladies and gentlemen.

The cast is an obvious strength for About My Father, and they more than held their own if you ask me. I thought each and every character was cast perfectly. Just like the families refusing to stray from their roots, the characters themselves never veer from their identity which I thought was important. Robert De Niro was fantastic as always playing the strong-willed but overall well-intentioned Italian father, and comedian Sebastian Maniscalco impressed me as the son attempting to forge his own path much to the dismay of his father. Leslie Bibb stars as Maniscalco’s wife and I thought she was fantastic and provided the perfect balance necessary. Aside from De Niro my favorite casting is easily my guy David Rasche who is lights out as always. The veteran actor who also stars in the HBO drama Succession just has the perfect demeanor for this role, and no matter how wacky things get he always remains even-keeled and is believable throughout. Plus, Rasche is one of those actors who can make you laugh with a simple facial expression. Rounding out the cast is Workaholics actor Anders Holm, Brett Dier, and Kim Cattrall, and they were all great. I am a fan of the comedy series Workaholics so I knew going in I would enjoy Holm in this role.

THE BAD

About My Father is not perfect; it feels a bit slow at times, and not all of the jokes land as well as anticipated. But the good news is none of these issues prove detrimental. The film has a very clear identity from the start not relying solely on the comedic element to keep it going, instead allowing the foundation of the film’s success to be the story and the cast. So yeah, as far as feel-good slightly dysfunctional family comedies go this is pretty damn good in my opinion.

THE VERDICT

A well-written feel-good comedy with relatable characters thanks to great chemistry between leads Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro, About My Father offers plenty of laughs while delivering an impactful underlying message. I really enjoyed this movie and feel like it has plenty of replay value which speaks to the emphasis on the story and characters as opposed to going the route of a potentially throwaway over-the-top comedy. My wife and I bonded over our dysfunctional families and now we have kids of our own that we are trying to not screw up too badly, so admittedly movies like this are extra special for me. Go ahead and grab a crazy family member from each generation and go see About My Father in theaters sooner than later.