'I Love My Dad' Trailer: Patton Oswalt Catfishes His Own Son In August

In a world of teenagers having finstas (fake Instagrams), being catfished, and using fake profiles to sleuth, it won’t surprise anyone that sometimes a parent might take the same approach. Most parents use parental controls or apps such as Life360, so creating a fake profile to spy on your kids may seem pretty unbelievable. But when you’re being cut out of your child’s life, you may go to the extreme. This is the premise of James Morosini’s new film “I Love My Dad.” 

READ MORE: ‘I Love My Dad’ Review: Patton Oswalt’s Features A Crazy Catfishing Premise [SXSW]

Inspired by Morosini’s own life experience, “I Love My Dad” tells the story of Chuck (Patton Oswalt), an estranged father who desperately wants to reconnect with his son Franklin (Morosini). Chuck has been blocked from his son’s social media profiles and is concerned, so he creates a fake profile impersonating a waitress to check in with Franklin. However, things start to spiral out of control when Franklin begins to have feelings for this girl and wants to meet her in person, as Chuck has accidentally catfished his child. 

The film was met with plenty of laughs during the premiere at SXSW in Austin earlier this year, which isn’t surprising. How else is one supposed to respond to seeing Oswalt’s Chuck telling Jimmy (Lil Rel Howery) that he “isn’t trying to see his son’s genitals,” as is shown in the teaser? 

Along with starring in the film, Morosini wrote and directed it; this is his second feature film. The film also stars Claudia Sulewski, Amy Landecker, Ricky Velez, and Rachel Dratch. “I Love My Dad” is in theatres on August 5, 2022, and will be available on-demand the following Friday, August 12.

 Watch the trailer below.