About My Father
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLaura Terruso
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRogier Stoffers
Edited byScott D. Hanson
Music byStephanie Economou
Production
company
Depth of Field
Distributed byLionsgate Films
Release date
  • May 26, 2023 (2023-05-26)
Running time
89 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$18.2 million[1][2]

About My Father is a 2023 American comedy film directed by Laura Terruso from a screenplay by Sebastian Maniscalco and Austen Earl. The film stars Maniscalco and is loosely based on his life and his relationship with his father, played by Robert De Niro. Leslie Bibb, Anders Holm, David Rasche, and Kim Cattrall co-star in supporting roles.

The film was released by Lionsgate on May 26, 2023. It grossed $18.2 million and received generally negative reviews from critics.

Plot

Sebastian informs his traditional Italian immigrant father Salvo about his plan to propose to his American girlfriend, and Salvo insists on joining them for a weekend with her parents. Despite the clash between their two cultures and initial perception of having nothing in common, they eventually become a single, unified family by the end of the summer holiday weekend.[3]

Cast

Production

On April 26, 2018, it was announced that Sebastian Maniscalco was set to star in an untitled film inspired by his life for Lionsgate, with Austen Earl attached to co-write the screenplay alongside Maniscalco.[4] There were no further developments until May 12, 2021, when it was announced that Laura Terruso was set to direct the film and Robert De Niro was cast in a lead role. De Niro actually met Maniscalco's father, for research on playing him.[5] American Pie's Chris and Paul Weitz were attached to produce the film alongside Andrew Miano for their production company Depth of Field.[6] In September 2021, Leslie Bibb and Kim Cattrall joined the lead cast.[7][8] In November 2021, Brett Dier, Anders Holm, and David Rasche joined the cast.[9]

Principal photography began on September 21, 2021, in Mobile, Alabama, and lasted for one month.[10][11]

Release

The film was released by Lionsgate on May 26, 2023.[3]

About My Father was released for digital platforms on June 16, 2023, followed by a Blu-ray and DVD release on August 1, 2023.[12]

Reception

Box office

About My Father grossed $12.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $6.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $18.2 million.[2][1]

In the United States and Canada, About My Father was released alongside The Little Mermaid, Kandahar, The Machine, and You Hurt My Feelings, was projected to gross $5–6 million from 2,400 theaters over its four-day Memorial Day opening weekend.[13] The film made $1.5 million on its first day, including $285,000 from Thursday night previews.[14] It went on to debut to $4.3 million (and $5.4 million over the four-day frame), finishing sixth.[15] In its second weekend, the film declined 52% to $2.1 million, finishing in seventh place.[16][17]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 36% of 86 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "About My Father finds star/co-writer Sebastian Maniscalco drawing on his own life for material -- and inadvertently proving that a funny standup routine doesn't necessarily make for an entertaining film."[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 39 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[19] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an overall 80% positive score, with 51% saying they would definitely recommend it.[15]

Matt Zoller Seitz, in a review for RogerEbert.com stated: "De Niro, bless his heart, is the engine that keeps this refurbished jalopy puttering along for 90 minutes. There are a couple of scenes that suggest the stronger, more fascinating movie that might've been".[20] InSession Film's M.N. Miller called Maniscalco's film "A culture clash farce that works because of Maniscalco's style of comedy and De Niro playing to his long-established comic strengths as a cynical curmudgeon set in his ways."[21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About My Father – Financial Information". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "About My Father". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  3. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 6, 2022). "Lionsgate's 'Expendables 4', Sebastian Maniscalco's 'About My Father' & Adele Lim Comedy Get 2023 Release Dates". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  4. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 26, 2018). "Sebastian Maniscalco To Co-Write, Star In Lionsgate Comedy". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Robert De Niro Taught Sebastian Maniscalco How To Cry On Cue | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend" – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (May 12, 2021). "Robert De Niro Joins Sebastian Maniscalco In Lionsgate Comedy 'About My Father'; Laura Terruso Directing". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  7. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 20, 2021). "Leslie Bibb Joins Sebastian Maniscalco & Robert De Niro In Lionsgate's 'About My Father'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  8. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 27, 2021). "Kim Cattrall Boards Lionsgate Sebastian Maniscalco & Robert De Niro Comedy 'About My Father'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  9. ↑ Grobar, Matt (November 18, 2021). "Brett Dier, Anders Holm & David Rasche Board Lionsgate's Sebastian Maniscalco Comedy 'About My Father'". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  10. ↑ Lane, Keith (September 21, 2021). "Robert De Niro movie filming in Mobile". NBC 15 News. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  11. ↑ Specker, Lawrence (September 9, 2021). "Movie starring Robert De Niro looking for background actors in Mobile". AL.COM. Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  12. ↑ "About My Father (2023)". www.dvdsreleasedates.com. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  13. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (May 24, 2023). "Box Office: 'The Little Mermaid' Swimming to $120 Million-Plus Over Memorial Day Weekend". Variety. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ Moreau, Jordan (May 26, 2023). "Box Office: 'The Little Mermaid' Makes $10.3 Million in Previews". Variety. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  15. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 29, 2023). "'Little Mermaid' Still Swimming To $117M+ Opening Boosted By $80M Promo Campaign, Biggest For Disney Live-Action Title – Monday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  16. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (June 4, 2023). "Box Office: 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Slingshots to Huge $120.5 Million Debut". Variety. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Domestic 2023 Weekend 22". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  18. ↑ "About My Father". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  19. ↑ "About My Father". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  20. ↑ Seitz, Matt Zoller. "About My Father movie review & film summary (2023)". rogerebert.com. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  21. ↑ Miller, M.N. "About My Father movie review (2023)". insessionfilm.com. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
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