Father

Father (Monsieur Papa, 2011) is a French comedy you can watch online on iFILM. Twelve-year-old Marius has money but no dad, and the ache of that absence pushes him into shoplifting and skipped classes.

His mother Marie runs a company and schedules every minute except the ones her son needs. Out of options, she hires an odd neighbor named Robert — a former finance man now scraping by ironing other people's laundry — to play the missing father for cash. Marius sees through the act at once. What he doesn't expect is to actually like the guy. Kad Merad both directs and stars as Robert, with Michèle Laroque as Marie and a brief turn from Vincent Perez.

It's a warm, low-key film about a rented role that quietly turns real. A good pick for a calm evening if you enjoy French family comedy with a melancholy streak. Stream Father (2011) online on iFILM.