Father of the Bride 2022 Hotel

Exciting news! Father of the Bride (the remake, starring Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan) filmed scenes in our very own Biltmore Hotel yesterday! We took it upon ourselves to explore the set 🤫🎬🎞🎥🍿 pic.twitter.com/bB2iTOZaD8

Stream It Or Skip It: 'The People We Hate at the Wedding' on Amazon Prime Video, a Floundering Formula Comedy That'll Just Waste Your Time

At least this third-generation remake – Father of the Bride, now on HBO Max – puts a fresh spin on the familiar story. The title role, previously filled by Spencer Tracy and Steve Martin, now goes to Andy Garcia, playing the Cuban-born patriarch of an affluent Latino family in Miami. Notably, Gloria Estefan enjoys a rare acting role as the mother of the bride, and cusp-of-stardom actress Adria Arjona (Morbius, 6 Underground) plays she-who-is-getting-hitched. So the names and contextual culture have changed in this apparently ageless story of generational clash, but does it diverge from formula enough to warrant yet another two hours of your life? That’s what we’re here to figure out, my friends.

FATHER OF THE BRIDE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Billy Herrera (Garcia) loooooovvvvves to tell anyone who’ll listen – and even those who won’t – about the broad arc of his life. That includes us, and he tells us via voiceover that he came to America with nothing. Parked cars to make a living. Met Ingrid (Estefan). Got married. Had two daughters. Studied architecture. Designed and built their lovely house. Started his own prosperous firm. By all means, a successful life. “So tell me, if I did everything right, how the hell did I end up here?” he asks, as he and Ingrid bicker in their marriage counselor’s office. Looks to me like he didn’t do everything right, and he has yet to acknowledge that, eh? And Ingrid’s fed up. All he does is work and watch the Fishing Channel. She wants a divorce. He’s gobsmacked. He doesn’t get it. But at least this movie exists, because it sure seems like an opportunity for him to get it.

Their oldest daughter, Sofia (Arjona), is coming to visit. She just finished law school in New York and passed the bar, which has Billy and Ingrid bursting with pride. They decide to break the divorce news to Sofia and younger daughter Cora (Isabela Merced, the live-action Dora the Explorer), a hopeful fashion designer, that night. They sit down to dinner and before anyone can open their mouths, Sofia jumps in: She met someone. Why she didn’t tell her mother or father or sister that she fell in love, I don’t know, but hang in there with your suspension of disbelief, because life moves at you fast, since she’s also engaged and wants to marry the guy really soon so they can move to Mexico where she’ll work at a nonprofit law firm that assists immigrants moving to the U.S. Oh, and knock knock knock, here’s the guy, Adan (Diego Boneta), and now’s the time to plan the living crap out of the wedding.

So what’re Billy and Ingrid going to do, ruin this joyous time in Sofia’s life? They decide to sit on the divorce reveal for a month, until she’s all hitched and has her blender and toaster unwrapped and thank you notes in the mail. Something you should know about Billy is, he’s a traditionalist. He specializes in neo-classical architecture, drives a vintage sports car, still carries a handkerchief in his pocket. That means he’s gonna be the big shot and foot the bill for all their cousins they don’t know to come to the wedding, which will be at the swank hotel, etc. etc., and Sofia and Adan’s desire to have a small, nontraditional celebration is just the ant in the asphalt under the steamroller. I mean, who says their wedding should actually be about them? There are dress hijinks (Cora will design them), wedding planner hijinks (SNL’s Chloe Fineman plays a try-hard Very Very White lady with a lovely Instagram), bachelor party hijinks (Adan, gasp, doesn’t like sports or strippers), in-law hijinks (turns out Adan’s father is an even bigger big shot than Billy), and so on. Looks like Billy, the man who has everything, might be on the verge of losing everything.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Pick one of the bazillion wedding comedies, any one of the bazillion wedding movies; maybe we can hold the original Spencer Tracy Father of the Bride (and The Philadelphia Story) for the joys and agonies (you decide!) of 27 Dresses, Runaway Bride, My Best Friend’s Wedding (my fave!), You Again, etc., but maybe not Melancholia. Now wed that formula to the crazy-ethnic-family comedy, and this Father ends up having a whole lot in common with My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Performance Worth Watching: I enjoyed Estefan’s no-nonsense approach to the fed-up wife character; she’s the glue that adheres the comedy to the drama here.

Memorable Dialogue: Billy doesn’t take kindly to being upstaged by his future in-laws:

“What is he, a Bond villain?”

“Mexican cigars? I can’t wait.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: We haven’t seen a true Andy Garcia vehicle in a while – he’s more of a prolific character guy these days – and he’s a good, solid anchor for this predictable, but amiable comedy, hitting all the notes pitch-perfect: exasperation, bluster, melancholy, sentimentality. His savvy-pro performance is an act of coercion, goading us into believing that Billy can learn to shut up and listen, to not make everything about him, to curb his ego for the sake of the people he loves most. The larger divorce arc is an inspired twist on the original story, lending the plot just enough ironic oomph to give it some dramatic weight and an element of suspense as the show goes on with the wedding plan despite all the inevitable contrived hitches and roadblocks and dust-ups.

Let’s face it – we’re not here on the third Father of the Bride go-round (not counting sequels!) for originality. This is comfort food, and it’s pretty tasty, cleverly differentiating Mexican and Cuban culture via light comedy, and making good use of a game, talented cast (Boneta, Merced, Arjona and especially Estefan each enjoy a few noteworthy moments). It’s slick, bright and eminently consumable, and director Gary Alazraki even choreographs a nifty third-act sequence using long virtuoso shots and crafty edits to capture the hectic bustle of the scene. This Father deftly balances a lot of characters and keenly blends a few tones into smooth, easygoing concoction. It’s by no means reinventing the wheel, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a winner anyway.

Will you stream or skip the amiable and entertaining Latino-American remake of #FatherOfTheBride on @hbomax? #SIOSI

— Decider (@decider) June 17, 2022

Our Call: STREAM IT. Father of the Bride is a modestly delightful surprise, pleasant and gratifying.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com.

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