NHFF Welcomes David Spade and Father of the Year
The New Hampshire Film Festival was in full swing Saturday and one of the highlights of the festival was the screening of Father of the Year. The new David Spade comedy was shown at the 3S Artspace to an absolutely packed house and the theater was in fits of laughter throughout.
Father of the Year is a Netflix original film directed by Tyler Spindel and stars David Spade (Saturday Night Live, Tommy Boy) and Nat Faxon (Beerfest, The Way Way Back) as fathers who are trying to connect with their recent college graduate sons.
When an argument between two best friends about whose dad would win in a fight becomes a reality, things begin to take a wild turn as everything falls off the rails.
Spade plays an alcoholic and unintelligent father whose heart is in the right place when it comes to his relationship with his son but can’t seem to do anything right. Faxon is an intelligent and successful father whose masculinity is brought into serious question by his son. With both fathers having something to prove to their respective sons, they try to take matters into their own hands and hilarity ensues.
The audience in the 3S Artspace for the screening of the film held a steady laughter throughout the entire run-time and in between smaller laughs were outbursts of cackling and howling at the absurdity of what was taking place on the screen.
Following the screening, actor David Spade, who also served as director and co-writer of Father of the Year, and New Hampshire native Tyler Spindell, took the stage for a special appearance and to answer a few questions about the film.
Spade began by briefly talking about the stunts for the film, given that there were several physical comedic gags that looked like they would pay a toll on someone’s body. Spade laughingly explained that his stunt double did almost all of them but he did participate in some of the scenes and noted that they made for some of the harder days on set.
Director Spindell spoke about how he is from Manchester, NH, and how happy he was to have a film set in his home state. He was also asked about how making a movie for Netflix might be different from making a traditional film. Spindell said that it is similar but that Netflix is great to work with and made for a good experience all around.
The highlight of the Q&A came with the last couple of questions with the first being about Spade’s career and what it has been like to work with some of the biggest names in comedy. Spade discussed how it was intimidating at first but he went on to say how, “being around better people makes you better.”
He also offered a bit of advice to the comedy world saying that, “in comedy, you’re looking for a voice.” He noted how important it was to find your voice and to be comfortable with your voice, but to also learn to evolve as time goes on.
Spade made sure to point out that comedy is always changing and that it is important to remember that the character he played in Father of the Year might come across as offensive to some viewers but how necessary it is to remember that, “he is an example of people in the real world.”
David Spade and Tyler Spindell were gracious to talk to the crowd and came across as genuine and happy to be at NHFF. The Q&A with the two of them was certainly the highlight of the screening and they kept the laughs going after the film ended.
If you were unable to catch the screening of Father of the Year and have a Netflix membership, the film is on Netflix right now to watch.
Remember to check out the New Hampshire Film Festival website and app as we approach the last day for NHFF 2018.