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I Love My Dad
By Jeffrey Anderson,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Squirm-inducing father-son catfishing "comedy."

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I Love My Dad
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What's the Story?
In I LOVE MY DAD, Chuck (Patton Oswalt) is estranged from his son, Franklin (writer-director James Morosini), who's grown up nursing a host of mental health issues. As a form of therapy, Franklin blocks his dad on Facebook. But Chuck, who seems to have been absent from much of Franklin's life, desperately wants to stay in touch. So he decides to steal pictures from the account of diner server Becca (Claudia Sulewski) and create a fake account. Despite it all seeming too good to be true, Franklin chats regularly with the fake Becca and even starts to fall in love. When Chuck is tapped to drive Franklin to meet her in person, he must figure out how to keep his fragile lie from falling apart.
Is It Any Good?
This misguided, disturbing, squirm-inducing dark comedy certainly took a certain amount of courage to make, but the result is cruel, unfunny, and ultimately without much of a point. Morosini has said that I Love My Dad is based on a true story, which doesn't exactly help things. Despite horrified reactions from supporting characters played by Lil Rel Howery and Rachel Dratch, the movie doesn't quite seem to have a grip on just how despicable this act of catfishing really is. It's not only about a father playing with his fragile son's emotions in a selfish, vicious way, but it's also about a man who takes advantage of an innocent woman by stealing her identity.
By telling the story from this unforgivable character's point of view -- rather than the victim's -- the movie falls into a trap. It's similar in many ways to World's Greatest Dad, in which a father uses his dead son (who was a horrible person) to resurrect his writing career, but there was no real victim in that story, and the crime wasn't abysmally terrible. It came across as genuinely dark and funny as a result. I Love My Dad, on the other hand, is structured like a standard "lie comedy," in which viewers simply wait until the lie is revealed, to be followed by the fallout and a potential redemption, which here is unearned and unsatisfying. If only the movie had really been about something -- either the evils of the internet or a genuine look at family relationships. But it seems more interested in just pushing viewers' buttons.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how I Love My Dad depicts sex. What values are imparted?
Is it possible to have sympathy for Craig, despite what he does to his son? Why, or why not?
What is "catfishing"? Why is it so despicable and cruel? Who is hurt by it, and how? How does it go against the basic principles of digital citizenship?
What is the father-son relationship like in the movie? How is it similar to or different from your own relationships?
Movie Details
- In theaters: August 5, 2022
- On DVD or streaming: August 12, 2022
- Cast: Patton Oswalt , James Morosini , Claudia Sulewski
- Director: James Morosini
- Inclusion Information: Female actors
- Studio: Magnolia Pictures
- Genre: Comedy
- Run time: 95 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: sexual content and language
- Last updated: December 1, 2022
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