Martinez 1

Jacob Martinez

Professor Vyvial

ENGL 1301

12 June 2017

How to be a Latin Lover: The Comedy Story of an Aging Gigolo

Image one; Movie poster (imdb.com)

In the film, How to be a Latin Lover, Eugenio Derbez plays Maximo, an aging gigolo

who has recently been forced to give up his million dollar lifestyle after his dying wife cheats on

him. This film shines light on Hispanic comedian Derbez to the non-Hispanic demographic of

the United States. The movie does not stray far from the basic outrageous comedy and family

romp that pop up frequently in the comedy genre of movies. However, the typical ideas of the

film do not take away from its success in getting the audience to burst into laughter. The all-star
 Martinez 2

cast of the movie, including Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe, Linda Lavin, and Raquel Welch, add

flavor by giving the audience familiar faces and adding to the outrageous comedy that is this

great movie. The background story of the film being the aging gigolo trying to get back to his

prime sets up the hilarious encounters Maximo (Derbez), finds himself in throughout the film.

All in all, How to be a Latin Lover is an amazing comedy because of the unique main idea of the

film, the all-star cast, and the way the film sustains its goofy humor throughout.

One of the contributing factors to the movies success as a comedy is its background

story. By opening with a horrific scene depicting the father of a poor Mexican family dying from

a truck explosion, the story begins with Maximo vowing never to work as hard as his now dead

father in order to avoid the same fate. Skipping forward in the timeline, a 22-year-old Maximo is

seducing Peggy, an old lady who owns the worlds leading grocery store chain, soon becoming

her play thing. This pampered lifestyle abruptly ends after Peggy cheats on Maximo with a car

salesman. Having signed a prenup, Maximo is kicked out and left without knowing any real-

world skills.

In response to this, Maximo ends up at the front door of his younger sister Sara, played

by Salma Hayek, a single mother with a son, Hugo. After being allowed to stay with them,

Maximo sets his eyes on a rich grandmother of one of Hugos classmates and finds himself

attempting to regain his gigolo prime. The story and the simple plot allow for hilarious moments

in the film such as the first interaction between Sara and Maximo, which starts with Sara telling

Maximo off for not contacting the family since he married Peggy. The interaction continues as

Maximo joins Sara and Hugo for dinner and ends with Sara whacking Maximo with a tortilla.

This scene exemplifies the comedic possibilities the story of the film can execute.
 Martinez 3

Another contribution to the success of the film is its all-star cast. Although the leading

role is being played by Eugenio Derbez, an unfamiliar face for the non-Hispanic population, the

film successfully sprinkles in actors such as Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe, and Raquel Welch, that

are easily recognized by the audience. Derbez does an amazing job of painting the image of his

pampered and carefree character; Maximo. The brother and sister relationship that is built in the

film by the great acting of Hayek and Derbez gives the audience an authentic depiction of people

that have immigrated to America keeping their heritage in their home. As said by Grace

Randolph, a respected film critic on YouTube, a third of the film is in Spanish, and thats not a

bad thing as she goes on to point out that it makes the film that much more real to the audience

seen as how Maximo and Sara are supposed to be from Mexico.

The smaller roles of the film being played by all-star actors provide more goofy comedy

for the audience to enjoy. Although some moments of the movie featuring the smaller characters

miss their mark with the comedy, all the characters have their big moment on screen. For

example, Rob Lowe, who plays Rick, has his big comedic moment on screen towards the end of

the film when he attempts to impersonate a police officer leading to the hilarious realization that

he is wearing a sexy role-playing costume. Even though these all-star actors are playing smaller

roles in this movie they are provided with moments to shine and make the audience laugh. The

great acting of the cast attributes to making this film a successful comedy.

The final contributing factor to the movies success is its ability to sustain its comedy

throughout. From beginning to end the movie is filled with goofy child humor. That is not to say

that the movie cannot get raunchy at times. For example, scenes with Rob Lowe portraying his

boy toy character, Rick, can shift the tone of the comedy to be more understood by the adults of

the audience such as when he mentions he is trying to learn Spanish because his wife Millicent,
 Martinez 4

played by Linda Lavin, is obsessed with her old Spanish teacher and likes to role play. A less

raunchy example would be when Maximo is teaching Hugo how to walk with confidence in

order to get a girl's attention. This results in the audience laughing at Hugos failed attempts and

Maximos words of encouragement. These scenes exemplify the broad variety of comedy this

film has to offer. From child humor to more adult oriented humor, the film sprinkles in both to

make a mixture that last the full hour and 55 minutes.

With a diverse lineup of jokes, How to be a Latin Lover is a movie that can be enjoyed by

the entire family. The hysterical kid and adult humor of the film make it possible for it to

entertain both demographics. The all-star cast and great acting allow the audience to further

enjoy the film and understand the dynamics of the characters. Despite having its fair share of

subpar jokes in the film, How to be a Latin Lover still achieves its goal in making the audience

burst into laughter with its onslaught of goofiness.

 Martinez 5

Work Cited

Marino, Ken, director. How to Be a Latin Lover . Pantelion Films , 2017.

Rechtshaffen, Michael. 'How to Be a Latin Lover': Film Review. The Hollywood Reporter, 28

Apr. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/how-be-a-latin-lover-review-998504.

Accessed 19 June 2017.

Grace Randolph. How to Be a Latin Lover Movie Review. YouTube, YouTube, 28 Apr. 2017,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hv5_WtseBk&t=87s. Accessed 19 June 2017.

How to Be a Latin Lover Poster. IMDb,

www.imdb.com/title/tt4795124/mediaviewer/rm1476866560.