About My Father

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for About My Father
• a review of About My Father completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 8 August 2023.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Sebastian’s parents rose from the poverty of Sicily and immigrated to America to give their son a better life than the one they knew. They worked hard and taught him to do the same, and Sebastian (Sebastian Maniscalco) grew up with a deep understanding and appreciation of two very different cultures. Subsequently, Sebastian fell in love with an aspiring artist named Ellie (Leslie Bibb) whose ancestors arrived on the Mayflower and who has come from a long line of wealthy, highly cultured, people. When Ellie’s family invites Sebastian to join them for a 4th of July weekend at their holiday home in Virginia, Sebastian decides he will use the occasion to ask Ellie to marry him. There is just one problem – his father Salvo (Robert DeNiro) won’t give his son the family ring unless he is able to meet Ellie’s parents first. Reluctantly agreeing to bring Salvo along for the weekend, Sebastian spends a hectic time trying to bridge the gap between his father’s strong Italian culture and working-class mentality and that of his extremely wealthy and classy, would-be, in-laws. Ellie’s mom Tigger (Kim Cattrall) is a senator, and her father Bill (David Rache) is the owner of numerous 5-star hotels. Ellie’s brother Lucky (Andres Holm) loves that everything is handed to him on a silver platter, while her other brother Doug (Brett Dier) is trying to become a natural healer, helping others get in touch with their emotions, feelings, and the vibrations of the Earth. Will Sebastian need to change to fit in to Ellie’s world or will his father ruin any chance he ever had?

Family dysfunction; White privilege; Immigrant mentalities; Classic Italian stereotypes; The clash of classes and cultures.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• Ellie flicks Lucky in the head when he is rude to Sebastian.
• Salvo kills a peacock (off-screen) and uses the beloved family pet in a dinner he is serving them. He later admits to Sebastian that he murdered ‘Sergeant Feathers’.
• Sebastian and Salvo blame the dog for the peacock’s death when it comes running into the house with a mouthful of feathers.
• There are references to slavery and past racial atrocities.

Material that may scare or disturb children

• Nothing further noted.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

• Bitcoin
• Virgin
• Versace
• Heinz Ketchup
• French’s mustard
• Speedos are shown and mentioned.
• Uber, Facetime, TikTok and Zoom are all mentioned.
• A Sergio Tacchini T-shirt is worn repeatedly.
• Wilson tennis rackets.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• The camera zooms in on men in “testicle crushing speedos”.
• Sebastian notes that Ellie’s paintings look like vaginas.
• A character says to Ellie: “I see you’re still banging the bellboy”.
• Salvo says that tennis players sound like they are having an orgasm when they hit the ball.
• Sebastian says to Ellie that the only breasts he wants to see are hers.
• Tigger asks Lucky if he wants her to feel his “testes” after he is hit in the crotch by a tennis ball.
• Salvo tells his son that he hasn’t seen him naked since the delivery room and (indicating his penis) alludes to the fact that he doesn’t think it has grown since.
• Sebastian concedes that he has shown his balls to the in-laws.
• In relation to Sebastian’s bare backside, Lucky asks him if he saw the full moon.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Sebastian’s swimming trunks come down around his ankles while he is wearing water blasting boots that allow him to remain airborne. He is unable to pull them up and audiences get a full view of his backside while Ellie’s family gets a full view of the front, including when his genitalia is pressed up against the glass of a boat’s window.
• Ellie unzips Sebastian’s pants in the kitchen while the family is all having dinner in the next room. They kiss passionately and she appears to be manually stimulating him with her hands. They stop suddenly when Sebastian notices peacock feathers in the trash.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

• Salvo smokes cigars on several occasions, including while getting off a plane and on the tarmac.
• It is repeatedly implied that Lucky has a bit of a drug problem and that the use of drug testing is why he hasn’t been considered for certain jobs. He later promises not to do drugs.
• Salvo and Tigger smoke cigars together.
• There is wine and champagne at dinner and different social functions.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Fricking
• Pissed off
• Bitch face
• Ass
• Asshole
• Crap
• Prick
• Stupid
• Shit
• God Damn
• Stubborn bastard
• Dick
• A rude finger is given
• Hell
• “Holy Mother of God” and “Jesus” are used as exclamations.
• Shut up.

In a nutshell

About My Father is a comedy, loosely based around real-life experiences and devised by stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco. The film highlights the clash of cultures and classes in a humorous and meaningful way and could not have been cast any better. Due to the sexual innuendo and language, this is not a family film but rather one that is better suited to more mature audiences and one that may find special favour with fathers and sons.

The main messages from this movie are to be yourself, instead of pretending to be someone else; and that family isn’t just one important thing – Family is everything.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Resilience
• Hard work
• Independence
• Compassion
• Acceptance
• Forgiveness.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Having everything handed to you versus having to work hard to get what you want.
• Making generalisations about people based on how they live or where they come from, instead of getting to know who they really are.
• Using drugs.
• Focusing on differences or negative qualities instead of looking at the way that others can (and do) enrich your life.