For the character of the father, François Desagnat remained fairly faithful to the original script: it had to be excessive, paradoxical, even to be a little unfriendly, without preventing the empathy of the viewer. It is for this reason that Kad Merad, who inspires sympathy, was chosen.
The project The son-in-law of my life(Le Gendre de ma vie) was born before adopts a widower(Adopte un veuf), the previous realization of François Desagnat. Stéphane Sperry, co-producer of the film with Antoine Pezet and Jérôme Corcos, spoke to the director about the original American screenplay developed at Lionsgate for Tyler Perry.
François Desagnat was inspired by several famous comedies dealing with the theme of the son-in-law who arrives in the family of his companion, like My father-in-law and me(Mon beau-père et moi) or Crazy Stupid Love.
In Adopte a widower(Adopte un veuf), François Desagnat spoke of a reinvented family. In The Gendre of my life(Le Gendre de ma vie), it's a real family but dysfunctional.