Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Encouraged by his girlfriend Ellie, Sebastian and his Italian immigrant father, Salvo, spend the 4th of July weekend with her wealthy and exceedingly eccentric family. The gathering soon develops into a culture clash, allowing father and son to discover the true meaning of family.
About My Father is a formulaic culture-clash comedy that follows well-worn beats: fish-out-of-water immigrant father meets wealthy WASP family, hijinks ensue, heartfelt lesson learned. Sebastian Maniscalco's semi-autobiographical premise gives it some personal flavor, and his stand-up energy translates reasonably to screen, but the script relies heavily on recycled tropes from films like Meet the Parents and similar fare. Robert De Niro brings some charm to Salvo but is largely coasting on persona rather than delivering a standout performance. The cinematography is competent but unremarkable — standard studio comedy visual grammar with little distinguishing style. The culture-clash setup offers nothing particularly fresh, and the ending resolves in entirely predictable fashion with the expected family reconciliation. A pleasant, inoffensive watch that doesn't rise above its modest ambitions.