Indy Film Fest -- I Love My Dad
Patton Oswalt anchors this decidedly uncomfortable comedy about a dad who catfishes his son in a lame attempt to reconnect.
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OK, let’s get this right off the chest: “I Love My Dad” is a weird, unsettling movie. It’s meant to be.
(Note: they asked us to stick to just a mini-review for Indy Film Fest prior to the movie’s general release. So, brevity.)
Writer/director/star James Morosini gives us a story about a lame middle-aged dad who attempts to reconnect with his estranged son by catfishing him. If you don’t know what that is, it’s when someone lures another person into a virtual romance by pretending to be someone else. In this case, Patton Oswalt is the dad, Chuck, who pretends to be a hot girl because his kid, Franklin, has blocked him on Facebook. Of course, you know it’s one long setup until everybody finds out and Chuck is humiliated and everybody shuns him.
Oh, and did I mention Franklin is suicidal? He’s just gotten out of a mental treatment facility. Clearly, Chuck has not thought this one through.
Give Morosini credit for taking big risks as a young filmmaker. They don’t always pay off. But some do. He uses an interesting technique of when people are DMing (direct messaging) each other and the other person pops up in the same room as if they’re having a real conversation. This leads to one of the strangest and funniest sex scenes you’ve seen.
Claudia Sulewski plays Becca, the adorable object of Franklin’s faux affection, whose identity Chuck stole from a real waitress he met. (Again, Chuck did not plan this well.)
Rachel Dratch has a small but droll role as Chuck’s girlfriend, who’s also his boss, and of course gets roped into the mess. Lil Rel Howery is Chuck’s best friend, advising caution. Amy Landecker plays Chuck’s ex, Franklin’s mom.
“I Love My Dad” is a mix of misfires and surprisingly genuine moments. Oswalt has turned into a rather nice film actor, and here he gets to do his demented imp persona while showing glimpses of surprising anguish. It could’ve used a few more spins in the rewrite cycle, but it’s a daring and often chuckle-worthy flick.