I am going to start by saying that the original Father of The Bride (1950) with Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, and Elizabeth Taylor is still my favorite, of course I am a classic film fan and in response to those who think that it is dated...I don't think the sentiment of a loving father who is going to miss his beloved daughter when she leaves the home in marriage is outdated, and if it is...I think that is a sad commentary on our current society. Second confession, I love Steve Martin and I think the version pairing him with Diane Keaton (1991) was comedy gold. And my final confession I have a Latin bias...so I was thrilled to see Andy Garcia back on the big screen especially in a role where he isn't a criminal and I really enjoyed seeing Gloria Estefan. I appreciated that they had Cuban actors playing Cuban roles and Mexican actors playing Mexican roles...and don't think I didn't catch the Latinx commentary.
This is a big Latin take on Father of The Bride and it is set in Miami, the home of our Cuban-American family that is headed by successful architect Billy Herrera (played by Andy Garcia). The old town Miami back drop is spectacular and the home that they chose as the family home "designed and built by Billy" is gorgeous and worth seeing. Another twist in this version of FOTB is the discussion of divorce, the film starts with Billy and his wife in therapy, where they have been for over a year, deciding to get divorced. Like the other FOTB films, the story is told from the father's perspective and this father has a lot coming at him...his wife divorcing him, his beloved daughter marrying and moving to Mexico and no one wanting to do the wedding in the traditional way as he does.
I will say the looming divorce gives this film a far more melancholic feel than the other Father of The Bride films...but I hope that doesn't deter you from giving it a watch. Andy Garcia really carries this film and both his wedding speech and his conversation with his future son-in-law are endearing and well delivered.
There was a little poking fun of the 'instagram generation' around the wedding planner and her ideas about having a flamenco and flamingo wedding...it wouldn't be so sad and funny if it didn't have some truth to it.
My husband's favorite part the latin take on a Daft Punk song.
Not for everyone, but maybe not worthy of all of the disparaging remarks.
