Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

About My Father 

I really had fun with this movie! Now at the time this review has been written Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a 35% which is incredibly low and I have no idea why. The audience score though is at an 81% and I understand why because in my screening of the film the whole audience was laughing and having a great time so I can’t comprehend why the score of this film is not at least an 80 or higher. Some people call it a poor Meet The Parents or it is a repeat of those kinds of movies which I didn’t see those similarities when watching About My Father. As the film very much is about the father and son dynamic while also giving great laughs and humour to the Italian lifestyle without it coming across mean spirited or like a stereotype. It’s heart is in the right place and Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro give hilarious performances that have so much emotional heart to it as well that you can’t help but want to rewatch the moment its over. 

Firstly, The plot and tone of this film really was funny and heartwarming! Now as I said a lot of people will draw similarities to films such as Meet The Parents. Guess Who’s coming to dinner and I am here to say that those films are all solid but About My Father in no way I saw tried to rip off the ideas of those great comedies. The film is able to bring in the viewer by a personal approach to the story that results in yes funny antics but packs a lot of heart that by the final act of the film may have you shedding some tears. Now for me what makes the movie apart from a lot of father son dynamic films I have seen come before it is the culture backbone that this film delivers quite well. As we all know Sebastian Maniscalco is Italian and a lot of his stand up has been about that upbringing as a child and his father has been the subject to a great amount of his stand up routines. Now what really was important was he did not make his dad in this film out to be a joke or a walking stereotype but it is done with so much love and respect for the relationship he has with his father. The way the trailer portrays the story makes it seem yes Like a heavy handed comedy and there is quite a bit of comedy no doubt about that. What I think this film juggles well is the dramatic weight to the material as I was not expecting it to get as emotional as it did and it is able to go to those places and really affect the audience in a very real and emotionally sincere way. As the film is able to showcase the hilarious culture clash in a very relatable way that many can relate to on top of the parental relationship I and many definitely can understand. So not only does the film give a fantastic personal approach to a incredibly very smartly written comedy but it is able to bring something very emotional that can powerfully affect the audience while still having them laughing the whole way through. So I found its ability at brining that to the narrative amazing and if anyone was raised with an immigrant family in any way can find the humour in this film just like how films like My Big Fat Greek Wedding was able to do so many years ago. The comedy and drama blend so well here adding Sebastian’s personal touch to it made it the all more special. 

Secondly, The performances are so freaking fun and entertaining! Now the performance that is the one everyone will be talking about is Robert De Niro. He gives what I think is one of the best comedy performances since his underrated comedy the family. He is able to showcase this mile a minute witty father who has a very emotional centre to him and De Niro is able to capture that beautifully in a performance that will have you amazed by what he is doing onscreen the entire time. Then for Sebastian Maniscalco he captures a performance that actually surprised me as it is a comedy but he plays his part dramatic for the most part. His entire arc is being nervous of his dad embarrassing him in front of his fiancee’s family and he yes does have very funny dry humour but he has quite a lot of emotional depth that I didn’t expect and it really was amazing to watch. Both actors give terrific performances and their onscreen chemistry is fantastic you believe that they are a father son duo and the way they ping pong off one another was great. Solid performances from the whole cast involved but it’s the truly fantastic work from both leads and their electric chemistry that keeps you engaged the entire time. 

Lastly,  About My Father is a hilarious fun time to be had! In a year where we have already have had so many solid films and more to come I haven’t seen a comedy like this make me laugh the way I did in this movie in quite some time. Comedy’s nowadays are hit or miss and this film does not miss at all it’s able to give genuine laughs while also having a great emotional heart to it. Robert De Niro showcases once again how he is a fantastic force with comedy while Sebastian Maniscalco gives a funny but yet dramatic turn the performances are fun and energetic. The film is able to explore the dynamic of wanting your parents to leave a good impression on your partners family which is a message many people can relate to and it never felt like it was trying to copy other great films of this genre but found ways of bringing fresh new ideas and resulting in a fantastic film. About Your Father will have you laughing and having a truly fun time I recommend everyone go see this film. 

This film centred around Sebastian a man who’s fiancée invites him to meet her family and even his father but once his dad is invited he does whatever he can to make sure he dose not screw up the weekend with his blunt personality 

Rated PG - 13 : Suggestive Material|Partial Nudity|Language

Robert De Niro : De Niro delivers another hilarious comedic performance that is the funniest comedic driven role I’ve seen in years! Now De Niro has done a lot of comedies in the last 20 years and what really started it was his brilliant and underrated work in midnight run. Now since then he’s done comedies like analyze this and meet the parents those are ones myself and people really love. Now in recent years people think he’s relied to much on those movies which I disagree with as some of his comedies in the last 15 years like The Family, the intern and even the comeback trial I think are solid comedies. Now his work in this film is probably one of the strongest comedic roles he’s ever taken on and I’ll say why. He has played Italian dads in comedies  before most recently  with the movie the Family now what is different about the approach to this character is the culture aspect. He’s able to speak Italian make Italian jokes in the dialect and really have fun with exploring that in ways I haven’t seen him do in a comedy before. As he isn’t making Italian jokes that make fun of the Italian lifestyle in a negative way but is able to use traditions and ways of living of that culture in comedic ways without it coming across badly and it’s brilliant shown in the performance at hand. As he also is playing a real life person too so the way he covers Sebastian’s dads mannerisms his blunt way of speaking and even their closeness was beautifully captured. De Niro’s attention to detail for any role is amazing and that’s what makes him the best is his dedication to his craft but here he’s able to show the charismatic and dry wit of his dad while also showing the very sensitive aspect to him. As if people think this is De Niro making a joke a mile a minute it’s not a lot of his humour is brought out of the frustration of what the family does that he finds abnormal and sure it comes across comedic because of the brilliant timing De Niro brings to the screen when delivering a joke. At the centre of it he’s a dad trying his best for his son to not be embarrassed. When his son tells him a few times how frustrated he’s not trying hard enough it results in very emotionally sincere moments from both stars.  delivering powerful punches to the heart as you can see the love they have for one another while also wanting to work out their issues and De Niro wears his heart on his sleeve. As sure he can joke around but when it comes to his son you can see the sheer need of wanting to do right by his son and not make him out to be a joke and to see his son is trying.  De Niro is able to both capture the charismatic aspect of Sebastian’s dad while also showing the very emotional and tender aspects of well in what I think is a fantastic performance. It’s comedically hilarious but also he packs so much heart and depth to who Sebastian’s dad is as well and you can see the sheer fun he was having while also wanting to represent Sebastian’s dad as accurately and respectfully as possible and it’s a tremendous performance that has you laughing one moment and getting you emotional within the next scene after and it’s truly one of De Niro’s best comedic performances in years. 

Sebastian Maniscalco : Sebastian delivers a witty but very dramatic driven performance! Now I think Sebastian is one of the funniest comedians I’ve seen in years. His stand up routines are amazing and he has great timing and hilarious stories now putting that to screen with the legendary Robert De Niro yeah I was excited what this would be. Not only is it fun but Sebastian delivers a terrific performance that blew me away. Now he could have done his usual comedic thing and just done joke after joke as he could have just been one note that way in his performance but he didn’t which I loved. He was able to pack so much depth into this autobiographical performance of his that sure is funny but if we’re comparing the two performances at hand his is the one that’s the most dramatic driven. As how he takes on the role is the son who’s on pins and needles hoping his dad behaves himself and theirs funny belly laugh moments for sure but it’s the sheer anxiety he has to wanting to leave a good impression on his fiancées family. He very much is constantly trying to fix his dads behaviour so he can leave the best impression possible and while doing that creates conflict within the relationship of his dad of trying to make the weekend as perfect as possible. Showing that at times is shown through just the emotion in his eyes and then there are times where he will vocalize his feelings in very real moments that are shown in waves of emotion. He really explores those more serious places in his heart and shows his heart in a performance that is comedic but the dramatic side of it is explored a lot more and I loved that he chose to do that. As we see De Niro have more comedic moments while also mixing the dramatic aspects too but Sebastian for the most part is all emotionally driven and it’s an exceptional performance that will have you in awe. As you can see how much this film means to Sebastian and how he wants this to not be looked at as a comedy routine but actually have layers and depth to the narrative and he brings a performance that beautifully captures the stress of wanting your dad to be well behaved but also not change him as a person. It’s a side of Sebastian we have not seen explored before and seeing him show such vulnerability was captivating honestly and overall he delivers a performance that makes people better understand him while still giving that hilarious fun while bringing you to tears. A truly terrific performance from Sebastian and I hope he takes on more dramatic and comedic roles that are able to blend those tone’s together like this film did as it worked so well for him. 

Laura Terruso : Laura brought such a sincerity to this story! Now this woman crafted one of the most cutest movies with Hello My Name Is Doris from a couple years ago. Now she tackles a fantastic personal story from Sebastian Maniscalco now she did it from a place of love and respect as she is able to do a great balancing act of hilarious comedy with and then have fantastic heart to it. As when having the Italian lifestyle play such a pivotal role in the film it was so smartly brought to the screen as mentioned before she didn’t make it out to be a joke but rather have the audience be able to understand Sebastian’s upbringing while also relating to the content at hand. So when we hear about his fathers upbringing a lot of people can understand what he’s talking about which makes for such an engaging experience. Then you add the humour to it and it just crackles as you for Sebastian giving hilarious moments and De Niro with that dry witty humour and both bounce off so well together. Adding another layer of the father son dynamic which could of come off overdone but she was able to approach it from a very emotional way which was to have Sebastian have such conflict with his dad because he wants to make a good impression within the process of trying to make it perfect he also becomes closer to his dad and we see the sheer love and bond these two have for one another. The way she could show that love and admiration was beautiful while yes giving funny moments but she never lost focus of what was the important aspect of the story which is the father son dynamic. She did a great job at bringing such a fresh and fun take on a genre that has been visited sure before but in a way that kept the audience engaged and having a totally fun time. She captures the culture clash with families in such a fun way while also having great intimate moments between the father and son relationship and also give one of the funniest films of the year all at once. She got great performances from her cast and never replied on cheap jokes to carry the story but was able to craft a simple yes but fun film that everyone can enjoy and even relate to she did such a solid job at handling a film that means a great deal to Sebastian. Laura did an amazing job at blending heart and humour and delivers one of the most entertaining and touching films of the year she did a great job.