My Review: Instructions Not Included (No Se Aceptan Devoluciones) (6/10)

"10 dollars for a cab could be the best investment of your life."

Is this film cheesy? Yes! Is it manipulative? Yes! Is it generic? Yes! But there is something about Instructions Not Included that captures the audience's heart and engages them. The film suffers from a rather weak and cliched opening, but as the story progresses there are truly remarkable moments with some interesting twists along the way that may surprise you. We've seen this premise before in films like Game Plan where a playboy who is afraid of commitment gets his world rocked when he is left in charge of a child he didn't know existed. But this film takes some clever turns transforming this into an above average dramedy that manages to touch your heart. The main themes of the film get across nicely. We are reminded that sometimes life can present challenges in our life that we may not be ready for, but they end up pushing us and we are forced to face our greatest fears for the sake of those we love. There are things we simply can't prepare for and we must learn to deal with those blows. These themes at times might feel a bit overloaded and at times the movie falls into melodramatic territory, but the chemistry between Derbez and Peralta elevate this film. The manipulative and over sentimental moments are eased through comedic relief. This is Eugenio Derbez's feature debut as a director and he delivers a touching family friendly film. He is one of the best known comedians in Latin America for his TV sketches (La Familia P. Luche), and at times the film feels like one. Some of the sketches work really well and others just don't belong here. That is what ultimately hurts the film as a whole, but the sketches are held together by the chemistry between the two leads. Derbez also is great with his play on words, and unfortunately a lot of those elements are lost in the translation, but Spanish speaking audiences will appreciate those moments more.  

Valentin (Eugenio Derbez) has always been afraid of mostly everything in life, ranging from small things such as spiders and heights to big things such as commitment. He seems to be living a pretty comfortable life as Acapulco's playboy, but his life takes an unexpected turn when one of his casual encounters comes knocking at his door a couple of years later. Julie (Jessica Lindsey), a former fling he barely remembers, introduces  Valentin to his baby daughter and asks him to hold the baby while she returns to pay the cab. Julie never returns, and Valentin is left clueless as to how to care for the baby. Remembering she is from Los Angeles he makes the trip hoping to find her there and return the baby, but as expected he never finds her. Valentin spends the next six years raising his daughter Maggie (Loreto Peralta) in Los Angeles after landing a job as a Hollywood stunt men thanks to a casual encounter with film producer Frank Ryan (Daniel Raymont) who sees how Valentin leaps from the 8th floor of a hotel suit to save his baby from drowning in a pool. Maggie shakes Valentin's world as she becomes the center of his life as he completely spoils her and tells her stories about her mother's heroics across the globe saving the planet. But Valentin is faced with yet another challenge when out of nowhere Julie shows up to meet her daughter now that she feels ready to be a part of her life. 

The first 15 minutes of the film feel completely formulaic and cliched. You expect to know where the movie is heading, and perhaps you might, but there are some interesting twists and shifts of tone that take place that raise the bar for an otherwise below average film. Derbez and Peralta's father and daughter relationship lifts this film thanks to their excellent chemistry. Peralta is a small force and has an onscreen charisma and likability, she plays off Eugenio Derbez extremely well. As I mentioned before, the film feels more like a bunch of sketches put together rather than a complete movie, and that is what brings the film down at times. Some of the characters that are introduced during these moments are underdeveloped and we could have been better off without them since the film feels overlong at times. The scenes with the neighbor, played by Karla Souza (from Nosotros los Nobles) don't work at all since the "plumbing" jokes are old and something we have seen before in his TV sketches. The same could be said for Sammy Perez who has worked with Derbez in TV before and is playing the same character. Fans of Derbez might enjoy these small touches, but for international audiences this could have been left out. This is a sweet charming film with a lot of heart that makes for an entertaining viewing with the family.  It has many flaws, but at the end I felt it was rather effective. If you don't like being emotionally manipulated than you might not want to see this, but otherwise I would definitely recommend Instructions Not Included (No Se Aceptan Devoluciones).

My Review: Nosotros los Nobles (5/10)

Nosotros los Nobles (We the Nobles) has broken the box office records in its native Mexico thanks to its easy and appealing subject matter. It is pretty much a straight forward "from riches to rags" story with some stereotypical characters and some funny moments. The film also has a family friendly message so I can see why it appealed to such a wide audience considering it made fun of the wealthy Mexicans. Unlike what many Americans might think, there are actually some wealthy Mexicans living the "Mexican dream," and they are presented in a rather comical form. The reason this film broke some records in Mexico is because it is really relatable and there are some pretty funny moments as the audience gets to make fun of these rich kids who seem to be clueless about the hardships of life. Nosotros Los Nobles was directed by Gary Alazraki (this was his first feature film) and he also co-wrote the screenplay along with Patricio Saiz and Adrian Zurita. I'm not very familiar with the cast involved in this film, but I think they pulled off some funny performances. This was way different from the Mexician films I was used to watching coming from Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, and Guillermo del Toro. Nosotros Los Nobles is a much lighter and more accesible film for audiences, but I still felt the film suffered from a week first and third act. There were some really funny moments during the second act, but the film opened really poorly when they introduced each character and then ended in a rather cartoonish manner as well.

Nosotros Los Nobles is a film that centers around a rich Mexican family known as the Nobles. German Noble (Gonzalo Vega) has built a financial empire for his family after years of hard work. His wife passed away years ago and he's had to raise their three kids on his own. Barbara (Karla Souza), Javi (Luis Gerardo Mendez), and Cha (Juan Pablo Gil) are not really good at anything except spending their father's money. They are really spoiled and live a life of excess. Barbara's boyfriend, Peter (Carlos Gascon), asks German for his daughter's hand, but he doesn't approve of their relation because Peter doesn't have a job and the couple simply want to live off his money. Tired of his children's behavior, German decides to pull off a charade and tells them that they are broken. He believes this way his children will be forced to find jobs and try to survive in the real world under harsh conditions. Cha finds a job at a local bank, while Javi and Barbara get jobs thanks to their maid's son, Lucho (Ianis Guerrero). Having no work experience whatsoever, the three kids will find it difficult to adapt to this new lifestyle, but German is sure this will teach them a lesson or two about life. 

Barbara, Javi, and Cha all play the stereotypical spoiled kids which adds to the overall comedy, but there really isn't much to their characters. Cha is probably the weakest link here as his story was completely uninspired. At least Barbara and Javi had some substance and side stories to make them a bit more interesting. Peter is the typical villain here who wants to blackmail his future father-in-law and pressure his girlfriend into marrying him so he can enjoy the family's wealth. I found some of the jokes pretty funny, but there were plenty of cheesy moments as well. The movie also is very predictable and despite having some heartfelt moments I felt this was  just another generic comedy about a story we've seen played out before. Overall it teaches some good values and some families might enjoy this film, I thought it was all right but won't recommend it.