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Writer/director Morosini plays himself in the situation, as a young man named Franklin who has just left rehab after surviving a suicide attempt. He is awkward and somewhat anti-social, and he is estranged from his father Chuck after years of severe failure. Not long after Franklin returned home, he received a friend request from a woman named Becca who lived in Maine; He accepted the request with hesitation, as he had no other online friends. But Becca seemed genuine in the way she spoke, and the attention and care she gave Franklin was delightful, comforting. He quickly developed an online crush; he wanted to travel from Massachusetts to Maine and meet her. But on the other side of the screen, Becca is actually Chuck, and “Becca’s” photos are stolen from a nice diner server named Becca (Claudia Sulewski) who once told a tearful Chuck that “talking to people is a good start.”
Patton Oswalt plays the version of Morosini’s father with great heart, as he does for other complex solos (“Young Adult,””Big Fan”) and it’s one of the comedian’s best performances in a film. While the movie never excuses Chuck’s terrible sense of boundaries, or being a bad father for so long, Oswalt’s performance inspires us that maybe it’s time Chuck is ready to be more present. that father, who made his son catfishing all. more tragic. Without playing grossness or darkness too clearly, Oswalt shows the desperation inside Chuck to get back into his son’s life; he’s also able to (usually) sell the film’s digs at Chuck’s clumsy understanding of modern technology and chat lingo. With Oswalt’s sensitivity as an actor, a character who has proven to be a liar, evasive, invasive, and highly manipulative still manages to be watchable. Maybe he will still love.
There is a subtle awareness in this story that wants to see how far this scenario can go, and it comes down to the description of the conversations. The movie portrays the intimacy of a fluttery text session as if they were dates happening in person, while daydreams come true during a long-distance relationship. Morosini’s cold mood immediately warms as “Becca” (his projection of her) huddles close, speaking confused, sometimes sincere words from Chuck behind his laptop and phone. With key intercuts that play like punchlines—that don’t add up—we remember the truth behind these moments of comforting fantasy for the son and the father. This approach makes his awkward comedy all the more visceral, like when Franklin wants to text-kiss “Becca”; We see how a shaken Chuck feels, as his son Franklin appears in the room, starry-eyed and ready to lock lips.
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