I Love My Dad

R

Released Aug 5, 2022

1h 36m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

TRAILER

for I Love My Dad: Trailer 1

List

74%

98 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

Fewer than 50 Verified Ratings

Audience Score

Inspired by James Morosini's true life experience, I Love My Dad follows Chuck (Patton Oswalt), an estranged father who desperately wants to reconnect with his troubled son, Franklin (Morosini). Blocked on social media and concerned for his son's life, Chuck impersonates a waitress online and starts checking in with Franklin. But things begin to spiral when Franklin falls for this imaginary girl (Claudia Sulewski) and wants nothing more than to meet her in person, as Chuck has inadvertently catfished his own son.

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Critics Consensus

I Love My Dad may take its cringe comedy too far for some viewers, but Patton Oswalt's fearless performance keeps the story anchored in honest emotion.

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James E

Patton Oswalt is great! Funny and awkward film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/10/22

Full Review

Brent

Soooo funny, soooo cringey!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/05/22

Full Review

Jennifer S

I was floored with Patton Oswalt. Normally I laugh so hard to his stand up, so I was not expecting a heart felt tear jerker! What a delightful surprise. This difficulty of this character was relatable and hit home in many ways. I appreciated the message. I appreciated the mental health that this films deals with. Acting was phenomenal, left me with a wholesome feeling of hope for anyone out there that needs to repair a broken bridge.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/01/23

Full Review

Ken R

I Love My Dad – Really... How to describe a movie like this? Social media pundits may think it savvy and maybe even relevant, but many might see a thin veneer over this story - which claims to be true but comes across as somewhat suss. Comedy? Well, if a young man undergoing a serious recovery session following an attempted suicide - being goaded by an absentee father who has stolen a young woman's social media details. And is now trying to connect with his son by pretending to be this young woman wanting to ‘friend' him...strikes you as funny, it might work for you. Performances are fine, as is the cinematography, use of music is in keeping, but the script is overloaded with cheap vulgar dialogue like you'd expect from a low-grade R rated teen show. There are several life-threatening situations that leave you expecting a tragic outcome, all creating a bad taste in the mouth. The father's cringe-worthy actions are only made partly bearable by a good performance from Patton Oswalt, failing that, quite unforgivable. If this is the best to be expected from social media based stories, then let's hope we don't get bludgeoned over the head with many more. Twitter I can accept, but have heard it said; ‘With friends like Facebook, you don't need enemies,' and this show tends to illustrate that quite well. The better elements within this one are let down by too many shoddy, unsavory moments. And World Movies ran this as a Father's Day movie – How old are their programmers?

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/05/23

Full Review

R 9

'I Love My Dad' works way better than it should! All in all, it's an amusing little flick from 2022. Patton Oswalt is perfectly cast in his role, he is an actor who's work I want to see more and this is a good start in that regard. Elsewhere, Claudia Sulewski impresses highly. It's a fairly tricky role to take on I'd imagine, but she nailed it. Like Oswalt, hope to see more of her! James Morosini plays Oswalt's character's son and Morosini is also the writer/director if this true (!) story - which I only just found out about as of typing this review, given I didn't know what he looked like and didn't clock the opening credits (assuming they made it clear he was also acting in it). That's cool! Lil Rel Howery is the best of the rest of the cast. It's a well made film, its music is its standout feature away from those portraying events onscreen. The score for that scene where Rachel Dratch's character makes a discovery is magnificent, I was supremely impressed - it somehow fits so, so well. Scene of the movie, no doubt. Closely followed by the initial 'kissing' scene, admittedly, None of the more heartfelt moments did anything for me personally, and there are some (intentionally, sure) cringey bits too. Overall though, I enjoyed watching it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/21/23

Full Review

Ittay1 S

An abusive movie about abuse. Nothing comic or humoristic about this "comedy", which makes money from making fun of vulnerability and abuse. So what if it's a true story? - this difficult subject deserves much much more sensitivity, compassion and respect, A movie about a well-intentioned but terribly twisted and abusive father, that abuses us, the viewers, by making us watch 90 minutes of abuse and repelling selfishness, being treated lightly and superficially, as a family comedy. Gross!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

05/31/23

Full Review

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James Morosini

Director

Patton Oswalt

Chuck

James Morosini

Franklin

Claudia Sulewski

Becca

Lil Rel Howery

Jimmy

Amy Landecker

Diane

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I Love My Dad: Movie Clip - Chuck and Becca

2:11

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I Love My Dad: Trailer 1

2:08

I Love My Dad: Teaser Trailer

0:46

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

It’s a film that genuinely does take the comedy of embarrassment to a new level. Morosini says that it’s based on a real incident in his own life; I can believe it. You couldn’t make it up.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 18, 2023

Full Review

Callie Petch

Little White Lies

It’s a strong showcase for Oswalt’s talents, going full pathetic odiousness in a way which is consistently entertaining to watch.

Oct 11, 2022

Full Review

Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

It’s exciting to see Morosini take so many chances with the way his narrative unfolds, even if they don’t all pay off.

Aug 12, 2022

Full Review

Ezequiel Boetti

Otroscines.com

An incestuous comedy. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Aug 24, 2023

Full Review

Pablo De Vita

La Nación (Argentina)

... A story that, thanks to that half-tone sensibility, is followed with interest, a few laughs, and growing anticipation. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3/5

Aug 24, 2023

Full Review

Matt Pais

MattPais.com

A delicate balance of self-awareness and vulnerability, disbelief and discomfort.

Rated: B

Jun 26, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

Inspired by James Morosini's true life experience, I Love My Dad follows Chuck (Patton Oswalt), an estranged father who desperately wants to reconnect with his troubled son, Franklin (Morosini). Blocked on social media and concerned for his son's life, Chuck impersonates a waitress online and starts checking in with Franklin. But things begin to spiral when Franklin falls for this imaginary girl (Claudia Sulewski) and wants nothing more than to meet her in person, as Chuck has inadvertently catfished his own son.

Director: James Morosini
Producer: Lauren Hantz, Jeremy Garelick, Dave Rath, David Bernon, Will Phelps
Screenwriter: James Morosini
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Burn Later Productions, Atlas Industries, American High, Hantz Motion Pictures
Rating: R (Sexual Content and Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 5, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 12, 2022
Box Office (Gross USA): $100.1K
Runtime: 1h 36m

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