A Jewish New Yorker is bedridden patriarch dying of lung cancer, confesses for the first time to son that he was always attracted to men. Despite his long-lasting marriage and faithfulness to wife.
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Peter McGinn
6
By Peter McGinn
Judging from the description, I assumed that Like Father was a different sort of romantic comedy. I figured that Dad would come into play to either assist or hinder in his daughter’s quest for romantic love, perhaps by facilitating or blocking her from getting back together with the man who left her at the alter because she was obsessed with work right up to the time to say their vows.
Instead, as the title foreshadows, this is not a romance movie, but rather a father-daughter “Will three find a way to get along” movie. Everything rides on which way her feelings run for her father, suddenly back in her life. It takes place on a cruise, originally planned for her honeymoon, and the movie follows their fumbling towards whatever their relationship is destined to be, while they interact with a group of people assigned to their table at mealtimes. I assume that Royal Caribbean put up some money for the film, for their name and ship is the main setting, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves like people do in commercials.
There is character development here, as you would expect, and the two leads put in a credible performance as they face the complexities of getting to know each other many years after he left his family behind. This isn’t a movie I would go out of my way to watch again, but it was entertaining enough to be worth the time. It helps if you like Kelsey Grammar, as I do.
