Sebastian informs his traditional Sicilian American 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]
On April 26, 2018, it was announced that Sebastian Maniscalco was set to star in an untitled film for Lionsgate, inspired by his life, 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]
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]
