Available today on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download is the fun comedy, How to be a Latin Lover.
The film stars Eugenio Derbez (Instructions Not Included), Selma Hayek, Kristen Bell, Rob Lowe, Raquel Welch, Linda Lavin, Renee Taylor (The Nanny), Michael Cera, Rob Corddry and the adorable Raphael Alejandro.
As you can see, the film has an all-star cast. It was released in theaters in April 2017. I remember seeing movie posters for the film, but never a trailer. Its a shame too because How to be a Latin Lover is a good film. It’s one of those delightful “gems” that you don’t expect much from, but you are pleasantly surprised when you see it. Look at it this way, A Christmas Story bombed in the theaters, but now it’s a classic that people watch over and over again. With that said, you can never discredit films that don’t excel in theaters. Sometimes films get more momentum when they are available for home viewing.
Maximo and his younger sister Sara live in a remote area of Mexico. Their father is a hard working man who drives a truck and is away from his family for days at a time.
After an accident takes their father’s life, Maximo, Sara and their mother find themselves homeless and living in a car.
One night Sara asks Maximo what he wants to be when he grows up. Maximo points to a photo on the front page of a magazine of a sexy, young woman standing next to a very rich, old man. In other words, Maximo aspires to be “arm candy” for a rich, old lady. He doesn’t want to be a working man like their father. He wants to live a life of luxury and money and not have to work a day in his life.
Fast forward many years. Maximo is in his 40’s and married to a rich, old woman. Every day he looks forward to her “kicking the bucket” so that he can continue to live his luxurious life without having to cater to his wife and her needs/wants.
To his surprise, his elderly wife has an affair with an even younger man, and Maximo is forced to leave his home and the life he has grown accustomed to.
With no where else to go, Maximo shows up at his estranged sister’s door. The two have hardly spoken to each other over the years. His sister (Sara) is a widow and has a young son named Hugo. She is a hard working single mom who is trying to make it in the cut throat world of architecture. Sara is the total opposite of her lazy, money hungry older brother.
Maximo feels like his only hope is to marry another older woman so that he can return to the life he loves. He finds his target – the grandmother of the girl his nephew, Hugo, has a crush on at school. The only way he can get near her is if Hugo is invited to the granddaughter’s birthday party. Since Hugo is a bit of a nerd, it’s going to take Maximo and all his seductive skills to teach Hugo “how to be a latin lover” so that he’s invited to the birthday party.
Will Maximo succeed in getting Hugo invited to the party? Will Maximo be able to “whoo” the rich grandmother in hopes of making her wife #2? To find out you need to pick up a copy of How to be a Latin Lover. Look for it where ever movies are sold.
I’ve only ever seen Eugenio Derbez in one other film, Instructions Not Included. It was a foreign language film (Spanish) but I fell in love with it. It’s an amazing film that will tug on your heart strings – and then some.
Just as it as in that film, I think Derbez did an amazing job. He has a flair for comedy. Even his facial expressions added to his character. Even though in the beginning his character was a bit of a cad/louse, it was hard not to fall in love with his character.
Little Raphael Alejandro (Hugo) is incredibly adorable and his scenes with Derbez would delightful. They had great on screen chemistry.
It was surprised by the all star cast. It was nice to see old favorites like Linda Lavin, Renee Taylor and Raquel Welsh. And Rob Lowe… WOW!!! That man never ages! I’d love to know his secret. I think he’s even more handsome and in better physical shape then he was back in the “rat pack” days of the 80’s. WOW! Simply WOW!
Kristen Bell plays a crazy cat lady. She had a smaller role in this film, but it was a good one.
There is some Spanish spoken in the film, but there are English subtitles.
FYI… the person who plays young Maximo (20’ish years old) is Derbez real life son, which explains why they look so much alike (great casting choice). Derbez other son, José Eduardo Derbez, also appears in the film as a drink waiter.
This film is funny. Not only that it has a great story line. The film was completely entertaining. I loved it!
I watched the film on Digital Download, so I didn’t see any bonus features. I also have the Blu-ray and I see that there are deleted scenes, audio commentary and two featurettes – How to be a Latin Lover and A Little Help from my Friends.
Below is the theatrical trailer for the film. The film is now available for home viewing.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.