2023-05-30 19:54:28
My dad and me *
by Laura Terruso
American film, 1:29
The title of this family comedy inspires an air of déjà vu. My dad and me has, a priori, no relationship with comedy My stepfather and mereleased in France in 2001. But the youngest still takes advantage of their resemblance, and does not seem to hide it.
Robert De Niro stars in both films and the scenarios play on the same table: the meeting, more or less wacky and failed, of the beautiful family with the fiancé. In the 2023 film, encouraged by his fiancée Ellie, Sebastian invites his father Salvo, a modest Italian-American hairdresser, to meet his very wealthy and eccentric in-laws during an extended weekend in their sumptuous second home.
A story sewn with white thread
The list of similarities ends there because this hour and a half comedy directed by Laura Terruso does not manage to breathe the same laughter as its cousin as the script lacks originality. The twists and turns are predictable and the story leads to a most naive Hollywood happy ending.
The funniest situations are those where we make fun, without overdoing it, of the family of others: tight-fisted and complaining first-generation immigrants on the one hand and spoiled and whimsical long-term immigrants on the other. But the line is too coarse, the laughter forced. Ellie’s Brothers, for example, are sorely lacking in depth and finesse and cause only barely amusing discomfort.
A credible De Niro-Maniscalco duo
Fortunately, the acting saves the day a bit. Robert De Niro is touching in his role as a clumsy but loving father, and the character of Sebastian Maniscalco seems believable. The chemistry is also rather good between the actor and the comedian, who had already met on the set of The Irishman by Martin Scorsese. At last, My dad and me is a nice movie to watch with the family to relax, but which is forgotten as quickly as it is seen.
#father #comedy #struggling