The cynical of heart may require an emergency schmaltzectomy immediately after seeing The Thing About My Folks, a sappy comedy-drama about fathers, sons, and the hackneyed shtick that unites them. Equal parts stand-up, sentimentality, and sitcom sugar, the film gives viewers a double dose of the decidedly TV-sized appeal of writer-star Paul Reiser, in his usual role as a whiny, self-absorbed upscale professional. After his orderly life is thrown into chaos when his longsuffering mother (Olympia Dukakis) finally leaves his father (Peter Falk) after decades of marriage, Reiser stumbles on a never-delivered letter Dukakis wrote to Falk delineating her unhappiness, and he uses a road trip in a vintage automobile with his loveable old man as an opportunity to confront Falk about his failings as a benignly neglectful father and husband. But what begins with acrimony, anger, and lots of tense arguments ends with bonding and cutesy road-movie shenanigans, as Reiser and Falk get caught up in baseball games, bar fights, hustling pool, flirting with a mother-daughter team, and other heartwarming endeavors affording seasoned ham Falk ample opportunity to devour lots of lovely scenery.