CATFISHING IN THE USA (I LOVE MY DAD)
Theatre and film is full of comedies where people pretend to be someone of the opposite sex just to get close to someone they love.
Shakespeare was very fond of this narrative device, deploying it in plays like 'As You Like It' and 'Twelfth Night'.
On the big screen, Billy Wilder's 'Some Like It Hot' and Sydney Pollack's 'Tootsie' are probably the best known examples of it.
Now water-director-actor James Morosini has come up with a 21st Century twist on it.
© Magnolia Pictures'I Love You Dad' is a digital age story about someone assuming the online identity of an individual from the opposite sex.
Based, Morosini claims, on an actual event in his life, it casts Patton Oswalt as a father who is estranged from his twentysomething son Franklin, played by the director.
This is self inflicted.
Oswalt's character Chuck is a screw up who has had a very acrimonious divorce from Franklin's mother, Amy Landecker's Diane.
© Magnolia PicturesChuck is employed in a miserable office job.
However his and Diane's split has had a major impact on their son.
Treated for depression and living with his mum in Massachusetts, Franklin harbours a deep resentment towards his dad because he's been unreliable his whole life.
Their relationship is so bad that Franklin refuses to take Chuck's telephone calls and even blocks him on social media.
© Magnolia PicturesDesperate to connect with his son, Chuck hits on the idea of catfishing him.
After meeting a nice waitress, Claudia Sulewski's Becca in a diner, he clones her social media profile and pretends to be her.
Franklin is flattered to be randomly approached online by Chuck's version of Becca and it doesn't take long before he becomes infatuated.
While Chuck is giddy at the thought of having some connection with his son - albeit one based on a lie - he soon finds himself getting into some really icky online conversations.
© Magnolia PicturesEncouraged by fake Becca, Franklin takes steps to mend his relationship with Chuck.
However this complicates matters - especially when they take a road trip to Maine to meet fake Becca.
Will Franklin find out what's been really going on?
And will it obliterate any chances of Chuck and Franklin becoming a proper father and son?
© Magnolia PicturesAt a running time of just 95 minutes, Morosini proves you don't need two and a half hours to tell a great yarn.
In fact, he delivers one of the tightest, funniest films of 2023.
'I Love My Dad' is a cringefest in the best senses of the word.
It makes you laugh while cupping your hands over your face.
© Magnolia PicturesIt's so well written and performed, it hooks you early on to an extent where you're prepared to go into some really awkward situations.
The writing and direction is sharp but the performances are also top drawer.
Oswalt is perfectly cast as a deadbeat dad, resorting to desperate measures to connect with his son.
It's a superb comic performance which feeds off desperation, pride, denial, anxiety and self loathing and Oswalt milks all of them to the max.
© Magnolia PicturesPart of the fun for the viewer is watching Chuck try to extricate himself from the terrible mess he has created.
Oswalt is such a good performer, we still find ourselves rooting for Chuck in spite of his idiocy and even though we know he is hurtling towards an inevitable car crash.
Morosini does a convincing job playing a version of himself that is depressed and socially awkward but who eventually comes out of his shell, thanks to fake Becca.
As a straight man, he is perfect.
© Magnolia PicturesSulewski is excellent too as fake Becca and real Becca.
Indeed the film wouldn't work without her being so game.
As Franklin unwittingly engages in tow curling online conversations with Chuck, Morosini cleverly imagines fake Becca being in the room with Franklin as he conducts their dodgy digital relationship.
Landecker is wonderful as Diane who doesn't hide her disdain and mistrust of Chuck.
© Magnolia PicturesRachel Dratch amuses as Chuck's current girlfriend Erica.
Lil Rel Howery turns up and lands some of the biggest laughs in the film as a co-worker who is privy to what Chuck is up to.
Watching Jimmy become increasingly horrified only makes you laugh harder.
As 'I Love My Dad' barrels towards its inevitable reveal, Morosini really enjoys playfully pushing comic boundaries.
© Magnolia PicturesHe does it so well, you have to admire his chutzpah.
The film is so much fun, it's a pity it will have been seen mostly in living rooms instead of cinemas.
Seeing it with strangers on a big screen no doubt magnifies the squirm factor.
It would also boost the movie's potential cult comedy status - something Morisini's movie clearly earns.
('I Love My Dad' was released in UK and Irish digital platforms on January 23, 2023)
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