The new trailer has been released for I Love My Dad, a dark comedy film featuring comedian Patton Oswalt as a father who resorts to trickery in an attempt to build a relationship with his son. Set to arrive in theaters on Aug. 5, 2022, followed by an On Demand release set for Aug. 12, the film will be released by Magnolia Pictures. You can watch the official trailer below, courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
I Love My Dad is written and directed by James Morosini, who also co-stars in the film with Oswalt. Also starring are Claudia Sulewski, Lil Rel Howery, Rachel Dratch, Amy Landecker, and Ricky Velez. You can read the official synopsis below.
"I Love My Dad follows Chuck (Oswalt), a hopelessly 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 (Sulewski) and wants nothing more than to meet her in person, as Chuck has inadvertently catfished his own son. A thrilling comedy with an unexpected twist."
I Love My Dad Is Inspired By True Events
Director and star James Morosini has explained how the concept for this movie came from something that actually happened to him. When the filmmaker was 19, he blocked his father from all communication after the two had a falling out. Weeks later, he got a friend request from a woman on Facebook who seemed to be a perfect match for him. As is the case in I Love My Dad, however, Morosini would come to find out that the woman did not exist and was actually his dad catfishing him. Morosini says his father created the account to make sure his son "was okay" and it grew from there.
"I wrote I Love My Dad to try and understand why he thought this was a good idea," Morosini said. "In retrospect, it might be the most loving and f***ed up thing anyone’s ever done to me. I’ve long been a fan of discomfort comedy. I laugh the hardest when I’m the most uncomfortable. A film about a father essentially catfishing his son could quickly turn dark, so we often found ourselves playing on a razor’s edge."
He added, "We’ve all made questionable, impulsive decisions. By embodying the father’s avatar from the son’s perspective, I wanted audiences to be both cheering for and against this terrible plan. It was an exercise in empathy to try and get an audience to understand why someone could do something so wrong for the right reasons. Creepiness comes from not knowing, so as long as I could always make it clear why Chuck is catfishing his son, we’ll be on his side and almost shocked we're rooting for him. Luckily, I also had a phenomenal cast to achieve this effect."
These days, it's water under the bridge, as Morosini says he and his father have a great relationship. His dad had actually watched the film at its SXSW premiere and remarked to him that it was a "really good movie." That made it all worth it for Morosini.
"This movie is for you, dad. I love you with all my heart," he said.