A super cringe, super uncomfortable father/son love story that’s equal parts sick and amazingly tender. A beautiful trainwreck of emotions leading to a crash that will undo you. Patton Oswalt and James Morosini are unexpectedly the best Romance of 2022 and the biggest surprise… It’s a true story.
Chuck represented an unreliable constant in his son Franklin’s life. Franklin recently attempted suicide and in the aftermath of that failed attempt, while building boundaries and healing, he cuts out his dad for good. Chuck is determined to right his wrongs and be the dad his son deserves at any cost. Even if that means unknowingly catfishing him into an online relationship.
You heard that right. First time feature Writer/Director James Morosini debuts an intimate account of a personal incident that shouldn’t work, but does in the most emotional way. A dad’s lust to be there for his son isn’t uncommon. Even takes on bad dad’s looking to become reclamation projects. But, never have we seen a story play out like this, and while, on its face, the cringe could be hard to get past, the presentation of this unconventional Rom/Com is incredibly tender and quite innocent.
Oswald is a lovable mess that constantly gets in his own way. The chemistry between him and Morosini, who also plays Franklin, sells it all. You believe in this world and the circumstances of it. The bystander that a young lady represents to Franklin makes for effective comedy that ditches the text on-screen for something even more special.
A physical representation of the love affair in his head is what we see, and it is amazingly clever.
The score is engaging, the cinematography is cool and makes this feel more than your average IndieFilm. The veteran talents of Rachel Dratch and Lil Rel Howery legitimize the laughs even further to make I Love My Dad one of the best surprises of this early film year.
9/10
