Two out of
Five stars
Running time:
96 mins
In Memory of My Father has a couple of decent performances but it's also pretentious, badly written, packed with unlikeable characters and nowhere near as funny or as clever as it thinks it is.
What's it all about?
In Memory of My Father opens with a movie producer (David Austin) expiring on his death bed as his son Chris (writer-director Christopher Jaymes) films his final moments. It turns out Chris has been bribed by his father to film both his death and the subsequent reactions of his various family members.
With the body still lying in state upstairs, the family and friends arrive to pay their respects - or not. These include: older brother Jeremy (Jeremy Sisto), who's concerned his wife (Monet Mazur) is having a lesbian affair; the deceased's 20-something girlfriend Judy (Judy Greer); younger brother Matt (Matt Keeslar), who bonds with Judy after walking in on her in the bathroom; Chris's ex-girlfriend Nicholle (Nicholle Tom) and his current girlfriend, bubble gum-popping 17-year-old Christine (Christine Lakin).
The Good
The film is just about salvaged by the performances of Jeremy Sisto and Judy Greer, both of whom bring more to their characters than the film really deserves.
The Bad
The biggest problem with In Memory of My Father is that none of the characters are remotely likeable, so it's impossible to care about their various problems. Similarly, none of the ensuing situations (mostly involving either sex, drugs or secrets) are as engaging or as funny as writer-director-actor Jaymes obviously thinks they are.
In addition, the concept of the fly on the wall documentary that Chris is meant to be filming doesn't work at all and is essentially abandoned early on, as if Jaymes realised that his scriptwriting skills weren't really up to the task. Similarly, the film fails to engage on an emotional level, leaving the supposedly emotional finale empty and meaningless.
Worth seeing?
The cast do their best, but In Memory of My Father is ultimately both pretentious and disappointing.
Film Trailer
In Memory of My Father (15)