About My Father (2023)

Sebastian (Sebastian Maniscalco) is a man in love–head over heels in love with his long-time girlfriend Ellie (Leslie Bibb). When he tells his father, Italian immigrant Salvo (Robert De Niro) that he plans to spend the Fourth of July with Ellie and her stuffy parents, and to propose to her, Salvo insists on coming along to meet the family. About My Father tells the story of two close-knit families from different worlds, and as they interact with one another chaos ensues.

As About My Father begins, viewers are quickly introduced to Sebastian, the fun-loving, caring, and uber-Italian man that has effectively become set in his ways thanks to one person–his father. Viewers see a montage of videos and photos from Sebastian's life, often with Salvo. I haven’t laughed this hard during a film in years. Not only did I laugh, I laughed constantly, out loud, for more than five minutes straight. About My Father indoctrinates viewers in the opening minutes, expressing to them the way of life of a Sicilian immigrant. I can’t think of a better opening, and I can only think of a handful of times in which I laughed this much at the opening sequence of a film.

I rarely go into a comedy hoping that the dialogue is anything other than funny. I’m not often looking for a deeper meaning, or for the words spoken by our protagonists to carry a lot of weight–but About My Father is different. Writers Austen Earl and Maniscalco develop dialogue that is meaningful, that just makes sense to viewers. Beyond it being funny, which it is relentlessly, it finds ways to nestle itself into the hearts of viewers everywhere, constantly aware of itself and the world surrounding it–and it only gets stronger (with the exception of a short struggle in the middle).

There’s a lull toward the middle of the film–as there are with most comedies. Comedy begins to take a backseat, but the dramatic aspect of the film hasn’t quite reared its head yet. This isn’t just a criticism of About My Father, but of comedies in general–but it exists within this film as well. I understand that abrupt change may be overwhelming for viewers, but I think that there needs to be a better and more effective transition period. I was lost for a brief period in the middle of the film. About My Father certainly bounces back, redeeming itself, but I wish this team could have found a better way.

It’s been some time since I’ve seen a laugh-out-loud comedy, since I’ve seen a film that promised to make me crack up and deliver on that promise. About My Father now sets the bar high for comedies in 2023. From beginning to end this film creates something both hilarious and relevant, not only entertaining but teaching as well. It’s not up on its soapbox trying to preach to viewers, but rather it’s simply honest through its comedic dialogue. Simply put: About My Father is the best comedy of the year.

Directed by Laura Terruso.

Written by Austen Earl & Sebastian Maniscalco.

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10