In Memory of My Father (NC)

Writer-director-actor Christopher Jaymes's comedy of familial meltdown tries for the taboo-breaking satire of TV's Curb Your Enthusiasm without understanding what makes it funny.

A roguish Hollywood paterfamilias makes a death-bed request to have his last hours filmed, and his sons (Jaymes, Jeremy Sisto and Matt Keeslar) feel duty-bound to oblige him. Once the old man pegs out, however, family skeletons are yanked out of the closet. The impromptu sing-along – "Daddy is Dead" – gives some indication of the mood. It's less fun than it might be, however, largely because of a script that's scatty, unfocused and in thrall to the Hollywood narcissism it purports to condemn.