Dad & Step-Dad

This is yet another 2024 film release that shares the same name as the short film it was based upon and also the same director for both of them, but this time it even stars the exact same trio of actors which is cool.. and probably one of the most interesting parts of the movie as a whole for me to be frank. Well this movie is most definitely something unique, and while I can't say I absolutely loved it I still do think it has a very nice charm to it that I thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience. This is easily one of the most memorable things I have watched as of late, which could either be a very good or a very bad thing depending on if the style of movie this is works for you or not but for me personally I liked it enough to have found it at the very least enjoyable. This film easily has one of the most specific senses of humor I think I've experienced in quite a while and while it is a little bit jarring to get used to if you're not expecting it, I think it has a certain amount of depth to it that I found charming and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find a decent amount of the jokes pretty funny. Although; this most certainly will not be something that clicks for everyone and I can see why that would be the case. I really liked how just character focused and down to earth this movie feels throughout the large part of its runtime, even though it's events do get a tad bit exaggerated to up the humor and make the situations themselves wackier, they're still very grounded in human emotion and every second we the viewer spend with the characters here feels immensely important and needed to further the narrative... I mean for a film there isn't actually a whole lot that happens here outside of the hilarious tension between all the characters and their interactions with each other; so it absolutely helps that said interactions feel so unbelievably human in nature and vital to the experience itself. Some great writing here that's for sure and I really enjoyed the way it's story was structured from start to finish, especially the conflicts which there are plenty of those that make for one wildly entertaining series of events from beginning to end. Without a doubt in my mind the main reason that this movie even works at all is inherently due to the fact it's very small cast of characters are phenomenally acted from start to finish, which obviously makes sense for such a character driven plot, but I was seriously surprised by just how good everyone here did and it made every moment of tension, humor, sarcasm, sadness, or sheer joy feel much more impactful to me and made it all just that much more worthwhile in the end. The most notable of all these performances being from the man who plays the central kid of this movie, who in the story is portrayed as a thirteen year old but it's such a major shock, or at least it was to me, whenever the movie started and the actor himself was actually very clearly a fully grown man... Brian Fiddyment is the actor here and he did a really great job in the role, and once you come to terms with the characters age, he plays the emotions out really really well, and his very clear discomfort is so realistic. Although; he's not the only one who absolutely killed it in their roles in this film, both the titular dad (Jim) played Colin Burgess who I am not familiar with at all, and also the step-dad (Dave) played by Anthony Oberbeck.. who both genuinely kill it in their respective roles and were both hilarious when it came to the comedic moments but also filled with raw emotion when it came to he more serious beats which is something I seriously adored about the film. Also Clare O'Kane does a great job as the mother (Suzie) here as well. All around a phenomenal cast and each one of their performances were utterly perfect and just brilliant for this film and it only really worked so well because of them. Honestly there really isn't much to talk about when reviewing this movie without going into an actual recounting of specific events which occur in it which I won't do because I don't wanna spoil the fun this movie contains, but other than that really the only notable parts of it are the astoundingly well done acting from the entire cast, and also the really unique sense of humor it embodies that personally I enjoyed quite a bit... also the movie is shot pretty well so I liked that as well. I don't think I liked this nearly as much as I could have if I was more in tune with the way it approaches things and the humor involved, but it worked more than well enough for me to confidently say I enjoyed my time watching it and I wholeheartedly recommend seeking it out for yourself if you have the chance to do so. It's for sure worth the time and said time is fairly short as well, at just under ninety minutes this goes by pretty quickly and for all the above reasons I listed I think it's deserving of some praise. I'd like to see these people in more movies, and I recommend watching this one. Also; some very 'innocent' furry related drawings are in this movie and it's hilarious. Good movie.