movie review i love my dad

Supported by

‘I Love My Dad’ Review: A Father Catfishes His Son

This comedy is a daddy-issues movie with a queasy premise truly made for these times.

Share full article

By Glenn Kenny

In his comedy, his writing and his social media presence, Patton Oswalt proves that nerdiness needn’t be a social liability. But in his most memorable screen roles — his disturbed, obsessive sports follower in “Big Fan” (2009), his withdrawn, physically challenged model-maker in “Young Adult” (2011) — he digs deep into the darker heart of dorkiness, if you will. His work in “I Love My Dad,” which won the audience award and the narrative feature award at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival, is similarly committed, and, where it can be, acute. Too bad the performance isn’t in a better movie.

While Oswalt’s character, Chuck, is a competent gamer and enjoys singing Cure songs at karaoke bars, his primary trait isn’t nerdiness so much as neediness. A pathological liar and an often absentee dad who has been letting his son, Franklin, down for decades, he nevertheless insists on connection.

Franklin, now in his 20s and played by the movie’s writer-director, James Morosoni, has not been thriving. A stay in a vaguely sketched recovery facility spurs him to sever harmful relationships. So he blocks his dad on social media.

This sends Chuck into a panic. In a diner he encounters Becca (Claudia Sulewski), a young waitress. Chuck invents a new social media account for her, through which he catfishes his lonely son, who immediately takes a liking to her.

All of the uncomfortable scenarios you could possibly imagine then ensue. In real life, being defrauded in this way is, one presumes, exhilarating. At least during the period in which you’re falling for the con. And then, of course, it’s excruciating in hindsight. Since the audience is in on the scheme from the start, what we get is excruciating, uncut. But not too excruciating, because Franklin is such a drab cipher it’s hard to work up much empathy for him.

The ostensibly comedic highlights include shots of Oswalt and Morosoni sloppily open-mouthed kissing. This, you see, contrasts the fantasy Franklin’s experiencing against the reality of what would be happening if … well, you get the idea. The remainder of the movie is a wait for the other narrative shoe to drop. After it does, a thoroughly improbable coda reminds us, once again, that in showbiz, it’s all about hope.

This is the second indulgent and unaffecting daddy-issue movie of the summer — the first was “My Dead Dad .” One prays that there will not be a third.

I Love My Dad Rated R for language, themes, inappropriate sloppy kissing. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters.

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

A Tearful Talk : Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the stars of the new movie “Wicked,” reflected on their long ride together , getting through Covid and the actors’ strike, and avoiding “playing to the green.”

Capturing America : As the wildly popular TV western “Yellowstone” prepares to air its final episodes, we look at four ways it seized the country’s attention .

Recreating War-Torn London : “Blitz,” Steve McQueen’s latest film, set in 1940 during Germany’s bombardment of the British capital, draws extensively from wartime photos .

Streaming Guides: If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime and Hulu to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Watching Newsletter: Sign up to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

Cast & crew
User reviews

I Love My Dad

A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect. A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect. A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.

James Morosini
Patton Oswalt
Claudia Sulewski
40 User reviews
62 Critic reviews
59 Metascore
6 wins & 1 nomination

Top cast 17

(as Jason Paul)

Group Leader
Young Franklin

Team Manager

(uncredited)

All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

Trivia The logline for the film includes the phrase "Inspired by a true story. Like, this literally happened to me." Written by, directed by and starring James Morosini, it's based on something that actually happened between the filmmaker and his father.
Goofs During one of the first scenes on Franklin & Chuck's trip from Massachusetts to Maine, the license plate on Chuck's car switches from Maine (where his character lives) to New York (where the film was shot), and then back again for the remainder of the film.

Chuck : I'm doing this to help him.

Jimmy : He thinks he's in a relationship.

Chuck : Yeah we talk about life and stuff. Its not like I'm trying to see his dick.

Jimmy : Oh come on now I don't wanna hear about your boy's dick. That's your son's dick you're talking about.

Chuck : I said I'm not trying to.

Connections Featured in Half in the Bag: I Love My Dad, Watcher and Vengeance (2022)
Soundtracks Flower Duet Written by Léo Delibes (uncredited) Performed by Music Beyond

More to explore

Or browse by category:

Movie Reviews
Best Movie Lists
Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

Best TV Lists
Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
Common Sense Selections for TV
Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

Book Reviews
Best Book Lists
Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

Game Reviews
Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

Podcast Reviews
Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

App Reviews
Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

YouTube Channel Reviews
YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

Parents' Ultimate Guide to Roblox (2024)

Family Tech Planners
Digital Skills
All Articles
Latino Culture
Black Voices
Asian Stories
Native Narratives
LGBTQ+ Pride
Jewish Experiences
Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

Parents' guide to, i love my dad.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 1 Review
Kids Say 0 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Squirm-inducing father-son catfishing "comedy."

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Strong sex-related dialogue. Two characters have sex (it's online and imaginary,

Frequent language includes "f--k," "motherf----r," "s--t," "bulls--t," "p---y,"

Character tries to drown himself in a swimming pool. Dialogue about suicide. Arg

Brief smoking, social drinking. Beers in bar.

Pepsi soda machine visible.

Any Positive Content?

In some ways, this is a cautionary tale about trusting people online, but in the

Interesting women in supporting roles and -- although the role is underwritten -

No role models here, only people who behave terribly and victims.

Parents need to know that I Love My Dad is a dark comedy about an estranged father ( Patton Oswalt ) who catfishes his own son. It's extremely cringeworthy material that can seem mean and cruel. Expect mature sex-related dialogue, a sex scene, passionate kissing, flirting, sexting, characters in revealing clothing, and more. Frequent strong language includes "f--k," "s--t," and lots of sex-related words. There's dialogue about suicide, and a character attempts suicide by drowning. Characters argue, shove each other, shout, and deal with a panic attack. There's brief social drinking, beers in a bar, and cigarette smoking.

To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Strong sex-related dialogue. Two characters have sex (it's online and imaginary, but shown). Characters kiss passionately, lips, back, belly, etc. Removing man's shirt. Sexting. Flirting. Man shown in underwear. Woman shown in bathing suits, tight/revealing outfits.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent language includes "f--k," "motherf----r," "s--t," "bulls--t," "p---y," "c--k," "a--hole," "d--k," "idiot," "loser," "stupid," "boobs," "masturbate," "erect."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Character tries to drown himself in a swimming pool. Dialogue about suicide. Arguing. Shoving. Shouting. Character has a panic attack.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Positive messages.

In some ways, this is a cautionary tale about trusting people online, but in the end, no one learns much of anything, and no one benefits; there's a suggestion that revenge is being sought instead. Movie is also about communication, or lack thereof. If characters had communicated at any time, it would have helped a great deal.

Diverse Representations

Interesting women in supporting roles and -- although the role is underwritten -- the main character, who's White, has a Black best friend. Attempt at representation of someone dealing with mental health challenges.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update .

Positive Role Models

Where to watch, videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

Parents say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

Sometimes It’s Just Approriate To Watch

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

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

World's Greatest Dad

Want personalized picks for your kids' age and interests?

Ingrid Goes West

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Goofy Comedy Movies to Watch with Tweens and Teens

Best family comedy movies.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.