De Niro trots out his ‘Meet the Parents’ act again in unfunny ‘About My Father’

Sebastian Maniscalco (left) plays a Chicago man introducing his gruff dad (Robert De Niro) to his fiancee’s upper-class family in “About My Father.” (Lionsgate)

If you were to resurrect the tired storyline of a young couple having to meet their partners’ parents and were looking around for someone to play the gruff, disapproving future father-in-law, one name should definitely not pop out. Robert De Niro.

Yes, he’s hysterical as the intense, no-nonsense, overprotective dad who’d make any suitor turned wide-eyed. Yes, he’s good at playing the role with the straightest of faces. We know that because he’s done it to great effect in the “Meet the Parents” series. Many times.