How To Be A Latin Lover (2017)

How To Be A Latin Lover (2017)

IMDB Rating : 6.0/10 (as on 04.05.2017)

PG-13 | 1h 55min | Comedy

Finding himself dumped after 25 years of marriage, a man who made a career of seducing rich older women must move in with his estranged sister, where he begins to learn the value of family.

Director: Ken Marino

Writers: Chris Spain, Jon Zack

Stars: Eugenio Derbez, Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe

IMDB link Here

The debut of How To Be A Latin Lover blew away analysts expectations, landing in as the second most popular movie in its opening weekend grossing over $12 million. And the driving force behind the movie’s success: Hispanic viewers. The romantic comedy starring actor, producer and director Eugenio Derbez attracted an 89% Latino audience.

Despite having acted in other movies, including Miracles from Heaven, this is Derbez’s first leading role in an English-language Hollywood film. In How To Be A Latin Lover Derbez plays Máximo, a fading gigolo dumped by his wealthy 80-year-old wife for a younger man after 25 years of marriage. Kicked out of the house, he moves in with his estranged sister, played by Salma Hayek, and her 10-year-old son in their humble home.

Although they’ve been friends for more than 30 years, this is the first time Derbez and Hayek work together. The duo also recorded a salsa version of the ballad “El Triste” for the soundtrack.

The ensemble cast also features the legendary Raquel Welch, Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, Rob Corddry and Rob Riggle and Raphael Alejandro. The film marks the directorial debut of actor/writer Ken Marino.

Whether it’s the cast, the comedy, the timing or the memory of Derbez’s previous global hit, ‘How To Be A Latin Lover’ could prove to be a much bigger success, fueled by the power of Latino moviegoers. It also illustrates that investing in diversity in Hollywood - and the right project - can deliver profitable results.

 Read full article at Forbes

Eugenio Derbez as Just a Gigolo in ‘How to Be a Latin Lover’

GLENN KENNY

The Mexican actor and comedian Eugenio Derbez is a superstar in his own country and in Hispanic communities in the United States, but he is virtually unknown to non-Hispanic viewers. (He has been seen, in small roles, in the likes of “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and Adam Sandler’s “Jack and Jill,” neither exactly a star-making vehicle.) “How to Be a Latin Lover,” which bids to introduce him to a wider audience in the United States, is surprisingly deft in mixing Mr. Derbez’s broad but accomplished style with more ostensibly hip-absurdist Anglo modes of humor. Body-function jokes are, of course, a universal comedic language, and they’re here, too, although not as abundant as you might have expected.

 “How to Be a Latin Lover” is directed by the comic actor Ken Marino (known for his work on the TV show “The State” and in the likes of “Wet Hot American Summer,” here making his feature directorial debut) from a script by Chris Spain and Jon Zack. When it sticks to exchanges like the one above, it plays a little like a vintage Bob Hope picture with a dirty mind.

Once Maximo settles in for some exposure to real life in the home of his estranged sister, Sara (Salma Hayek, very sweet when she’s not playing angry), and her son, Hugo, the balancing act of sentiment and asininity proves more difficult for the filmmakers. And, of course, the movie’s theme of gigolo-dom provides many opportunities for sexist, ageist and lookist humor, all of which “Latin Lover” takes with regularity. However, the whole enterprise is so fundamentally good-natured and fluffy that it’s sometimes hard to stay annoyed by it.

Rob Lowe’s dryly dopey comedic presence as another gold digger is an asset. So is Raphael Alejandro as Hugo, who’s sweet and winsome and precocious without being cloying. For some reason, the actor John Heard shows up; he is seen crossing the street in a shot, never to return. It’s the only enigmatic feature of this goofball exercise.

 read full review at New York times

A colorful cast led by Eugenio Derbez, Salma Hayek and Raquel Welch (!) enliven this uneven but likeable comedy. 

Michael Rechtshaffen 

OK, so it will never be mistaken for vintage Pedro Almodovar or Bigas Luna, but the feel-good satire How to Be a Latin Lover nevertheless gives you less cause to be a hater than you might have expected.

A tailor-made vehicle for Mexican comedy star Eugenio Derbez, the film — about an aging gigolo who's abruptly tossed out on his saggy behind after being a kept man for 25 years — admittedly has commitment issues in its desire to be both an outrageous comedy and a tender family romp. But first-time feature director Ken Marino and his game cast, also including a terrific Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe, Linda Lavin and Raquel Welch, succeed in goosing the funny bone more than they miss, which could position this release from Lionsgate’s Hispanic division as a bona fide player with its targeted demographic.

Marino, a well-known actor who cut his directorial teeth on episodes of Burning Love and Children's Hospital, is equally at home directing the broader physical comedy and sweeter bonding sequences between Maximo and Hugo, even as the overlong film's two distinct personalities never manage to coalesce into a self-contained whole.

There are still a number of inspired moments on display in Chris Spain and Jon Zack's screenplay, which have been enthusiastically embraced by the cast of good sports. While Derbez, whose 2013 family comedy Instructions Not Included holds the record as the highest-grossing Spanish-language release in U.S. history, gives a remarkably vanity-free performance as the ridiculously vain Maximo, he and the always-welcome Hayek display a convincing sibling dynamic that really helps keep things rooted.

Also contributing to the goofiness factor are Rob Lowe as Maximo's longtime buddy who has enjoyed a similar set-up with lusty sugar mama Linda Lavin, and Kristen Bell as a spirited frozen yogurt store employee and dedicated cat lady with the scratches to prove it. And then there's ever-game Welch, who at age 76 delivers a performance that can only be described as outrageously disarming. Like everything else about How to Be a Latin Lover, it might not ultimately hit the desired tone, but it can occasionally still be fun trying to get there.

Read full review at Hollywood reporter