A divorced father is desperate to mend the uneasy relationship with his troubled 20-something son. But when his son blocks him on his social media and stops answering his calls, the father creates a fake social media profile of a young woman to reconnect with his son and start chatting regularly.
I Love My Dad is a comedy that delights in the uncomfortable, but it also honestly portrays the emotional power of social media by showing how weeks of texting and online conversations can grow into a relationship....or at least what feels like a relationship. Because of the uncomplicated and easily-written dialogue, the comedic energy of the film grows alongside the emotional tension, and both threads remain surprisingly well-balanced with each other. Watching a hopeful young man communicate openly about everything (from family relationships to sex) with someone he doesn't know is his hopeless father creates delightfully perverse scenes that distort all the accepted notions of happy fatherhood.
Patton Oswalt (TV series A.P. Bio, 2018-2021) as the irresponsible father gives the best performance of his career because he isn't a villain bent on emotional manipulation. He's just a man in over his head refusing to accept the consequences of his past neglect. A tragically comic and lonely figure who becomes a prisoner of his own spontaneity.
I Love My Dad is the perfect example of why contemporary film is so important and exciting. As the world changes, technology develops, and relationships evolve, we need to see stories that show these changes and that encapsulate the complex feelings resulting from them. Never has a coming-of-age film been so twisted, so heartbreaking and so relevant for viewers of all ages. Not only will viewers laugh, shake their head, and squirm in their seat, they may do all of those at the same time.
A big thank you goes to the co-star, director, and writer of this film James Morosini (The Sex Lives of College Girls, 2021) who based this film on his own experience being catfished by his father.
