Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Things My Father Never Taught Me

  • 20122012
  • 7m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
261
YOUR RATING
The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
ShortComedyRomance
Melvin gives dating advice to his three-year-old son.Melvin gives dating advice to his three-year-old son.Melvin gives dating advice to his three-year-old son.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
261
YOUR RATING
    • Burleigh Smith
    • Burleigh Smith
  • Stars
    • Burleigh Smith
    • Aiden Papamihail
    • Bridie Carter
    • Burleigh Smith
    • Burleigh Smith
  • Stars
    • Burleigh Smith
    • Aiden Papamihail
    • Bridie Carter
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos18

    The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    Burleigh Smith and Aiden Papamihail in The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    Burleigh Smith and Aiden Papamihail in The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    Aiden Papamihail in The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    Aiden Papamihail in The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    Aiden Papamihail in The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    Bridie Carter in The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    Burleigh Smith and Aiden Papamihail in The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)
    Bridie Carter and Burleigh Smith in The Things My Father Never Taught Me (2012)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Burleigh Smith
    Burleigh Smith
    • Melvin
    Aiden Papamihail
    • Mike
    Bridie Carter
    Bridie Carter
    • Mary
    Isabella Paris Hamer
    • Molly
      • Burleigh Smith
      • Burleigh Smith
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      No children were harmed in the making of the film. The dirt thrown in the child's face was done digitally.
    • Goofs
      When Mike picks up the handbag, his shirt is tucked into his pants. In the reverse shot, as he puts the bag on his shoulder, his shirt is untucked.
    • Quotes

      Melvin: So here's what I'm going to do, son. I'm going to give it to you straight. I'm not going to fill your head with fictitious characters like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny or God. There's only one thing you need to worry about and that's women.

    • Crazy credits
      The entire closing credits are presented on a single title card.
    • Soundtracks
      Maxwell Swing
      Composed by Steven R. Curry

      Performed by the Texas Gypsies

      Licensed by Navarr Enterprises, Inc.

    User reviews1

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A wonderful little short on many fronts
    This film was an official selection at the Filmstock Arizona 2013 round of the revolving Filmstock Film Festival.

    It's obvious from his consistent use of the Windsor Light Condensed font that Burleigh Smith dreams of being Woody Allen. His frequent choice of relationship comedy as subject matter underlines it, though he cleverly describes himself as 'more neurotic and less talented' than the master. He's also taller and less Jewish, but that doesn't affect the talent that shines out of this seven minute short. As "The Things My Father Never Taught Me" has been screened at over 120 film festivals in 18 different countries, he's also clearly doing much better than most wannabes. Filmstock Arizona will be the latest chance to see this peach of a short on the big screen and, frankly, every chance is a good one. Beyond being astute and funny, it's also a textbook in how to allow very young child actors to steal a picture without driving adults completely insane. Smith is everywhere here but Aiden Papamihail is as strong a foil for him as Jackie Coogan was for Charlie Chaplin.

    Smith plays Melvin, who provides almost every word we hear, either as narration or dialogue, as it's all about him. Once he realised early in life that his father couldn't teach him a single thing about women, he proceeded to figure out all the tricks himself, or so he believes. He also feels that this knowledge is so fundamental that he's driven to pass it on to his own son, Mike, who apparently needs dating advice at the tender age of three. It's a good job that Smith dominates the audio, because as strong as he is, little Aiden Papamihail steals the show out from under him routinely, effortlessly and very effectively indeed. It's no shock, given that the overly confident Melvin has a three year old son but apparently no significant other, to discover how this all ends up but we're taken there very efficiently, through a mix of Melvin's dedication to a crazy task, played delightfully straight, Papamihail's scene stealing antics and the up tempo music of the Texas Gypsies. The choice to shoot in black and white doesn't hurt either.

    This was my first experience of Burleigh Smith, but I'll certainly attempt to track down some of his other work, including short films like "Then She Was Gone" and "Love Like You've Never Been Hurt". He's written every picture he's directed, starred in most of them and edited them too, under the pseudonym of Ross Farnsworth. Reading synopses, he's clearly most at home with relationship comedy; that's hardly surprising, given how straight he plays the role of Marvin, who is so often almost right but never quite there. He's great at making a mild idiot out of himself without ever losing believability; he never becomes a cartoon. He works well with Bridie Carter, the only other adult actor really in the film, who returned from his 2011 short, "Ragtime". It's his interactions with his son Mike that really shine though, and how he's affected by the other interactions that those set up. This is a wonderful little short on many fronts.
    helpful•10
    0
    • Hal_Astell
    • Mar 25, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 1, 2015 (Australia)
      • Australia
      • Wavebreaker (Australia)
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Perth, Western Australia, Australia
    • Production company
      • Wavebreaker
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 7 minutes
      • Black and White

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.