★★★1/2

Based on true events, I Love My Dad is one of the more uncomfortable and daring comedies to arrive in recent memory. Writer/director James Morosini stars alongside Patton Oswalt in this frequently jaw-dropping, WTF?! story of a father’s attempts to reconnect with his estranged son.

Morosini plays Franklin, a 20-something young man who is on the cusp of being released from a mental health hospital after battles with depression and a failed suicide attempt. His parents, Chuck (Oswalt) and Diane (Amy Landecker) are divorced and Franklin has severed all ties with Chuck, tired of his constant lies and selfish and narcissistic behaviors. Franklin’s decision to sever ties and block his dad on all social media and communication platforms sends Chuck into an emotional tailspin.

As Franklin tries to piece his life together and gain strength on his own footing, returning home to live with his mom for the immediate future, Chuck learns from a co-worker (Lil Rel Howery) that when he and his previous girlfriend broke up, he created a fake social media account so he could spy on her. Not shared as advice, but more just as an aside, Chuck hears those words loud and clear. And so…Chuck decides to make a fake profile on social media to follow his son.

And naturally, it will be made with the profile picture, images, and name of a woman named Becca (Claudia Sulewski), the kindly waitress that Chuck laughed with when grabbing a recent meal.

Inevitably, Chuck navigates the very obvious questions which arise when the unassuming Franklin becomes Becca’s only friend and follower. Morosini frames I Love My Dad around best intentions, giving something of an out to Chuck’s inability to understand the grave decisions and unavoidable harm his behavior is likely going to cause his son.

This all adds up to one of the more polarizing films of the year. At once, you understand Chuck’s plight - though he is profoundly unable to see his role in the long-simmering issues between his ex-wife and the damage his behavior has caused his son. And Franklin, presented as someone with sheepish innocence and hunched over fragility, turns out to be someone you just want to give a big, sloppy hug while listening to him talk for as long as need be about whatever it is he needs to talk about.

The film gains strength when Becca becomes an active character, alongside Franklin in scenes playing out in his mind and imagination. And in trying to have a relationship with his son, Chuck fails to account for the fact that Franklin may fall for Becca. And it is there when I Love My Dad gets weird and cringey and uncomfortable and one wonders how far Morosini will push his script, teetering on the verge of overwhelming his story for all the wrong reasons.

As great as Oswalt is, and he has this character dialed down perfectly, I Love My Dad is a film that ultimately does feel a bit too forgiving for narrative convenience. At times, Morosini’s sequencing of comedic and dramatic beats falls out of rhythm. However, the film is daring, bold, and ambitious and Morosini’s ability to take viewers on an unsettling, irresistible journey full of shocking twists and turns cannot be understated.

I Love My Dad was screened as the Opening Night Film at the Fifth Annual North Bend Film Festival.