Being Frank| 1 out of 4 Stars| Rated R
By Kyle Osborne
If a certain someone in the Oval Office were reviewing the new comedy Being Frank, he might accurately describe it as “low energy.” As a comedy, it doesn’t get many laughs, and as a family drama, it’s too goofy and doesn’t take the issues at its core seriously. It sits uncomfortably inside the space in between.
Logan Miller plays Philip, a high school senior whose father is simultaneously overbearing and completely absent. The worst of both worlds. When Philip finds out he’s been accepted by NYU and his dad immediately squashes the idea, preferring that son stay nearby and go to “State”, it’s the last draw.
Setting off for an impromptu spring break with his buddies in the next town over, son sees his father with not only another woman…but with a whole other family. What comes next is 90 minutes of farce (in the literal, theatrical definition), near-misses, new lies to cover old lies, and, eventually, father and son “bonding” as co-conspirators. It’s kinda gross and not a naturally funny premise.
Comedian/Actor Jim Gaffigan has the thankless job of playing the douche dad (Frank) who seems almost irredeemably bad, no matter how hard the script connives to soften his well-earned nastiness near the end. This might be partly to do with Gaffigan’s inherent likeability, but mostly he isn’t given much to work with, laudably giving his character more dimension than the screenplay did.
The performances are better than the material. Good people end up in bad movies, on both sides of the camera. There are ways this material could have been made into a decent comedy and an even better drama, but, Frankly, this film misses those opportunities.
