Father of the Bride Movie Review

Father of the Bride is a 2022 drama/romance film by Warner Bros. and HBO Max. It’s a beautiful love letter to everything weddings and the superbly tight-knit bond between fathers and their daughters. Watching the movie is a lullaby of love and Cuban/Mexican culture, set in the beautiful backdrop of Miami. Viva! Father of the Bride is directed by Gary Alazraki and produced by Brad Pitt and Andy Garcia.

Papi

Sofia, played by Adria Arjona, comes home with a huge announcement that she is engaged. Her father Billy, played by Andy Garcia, and her mother Ingrid, played by Gloria Estefan, are going through a rough patch and are even considering divorce. Sofia’s big announcement, however, upends theirs and the family starts scrambling to plan a wedding in less than a month.

Adan

Sofi’s fiancee Adan, played by Diego Boneta, visits the family and Billy gets a go at getting to know him better. The whole engagement is no doubt rushed but, over time, things fall into their place, or do they? Adan’s family comes along too and the whole family gets to meet and plan the wedding together.

Who’s Paying for the Wedding?

Billy, as the father of the bride, insists that he will pay for the wedding. He doesn’t realize it at first but Adan comes from a very wealthy family and even after learning this, still insists on catering for everything. According to him, the wedding should follow tradition but that is far from what Sofi wants.

Tradition vs Simplicity

Sofi and Adan want a simple wedding, not a catholic one but one officiated by a Zen master. They also don’t want something extravagant and even turn down Billy’s suggestion that they get married at a prestigious hotel. They also opt for the wedding dress and the bridesmaid dresses to be designed by Sofi’s sister, Cora, played by Isabela Moner, who is a surprisingly good designer. Isabela Moner recently changed her name to Isabela Merced to honor her late grandma who she never met.

Mexico x Cubano

Adan and his family are from Mexico while Sofi and her family originally came from Cuba. The two cultures somewhat clash at first but they warm up to one another as they share the Spanish dialect. The two families find ways to ‘mix’ their cultures while retaining cultural distinctiveness and come together as a family.

A Storm Over the Wedding

The whole engagement is rushed as Adan and Sofi want to start their life together right away. Their dream is to move to Mexico and help immigrant families entering the United States from Mexico. They are both lawyers and choose to volunteer in Mexico. They plan a somewhat carte blanche wedding that is not too posh and yet not too simple. Things, however, go awry after a storm sweeps past Miami, just a day before the wedding. The venue is wrecked and completely inaccessible thanks to a fallen bridge.

Let’s Improvise: A Wedding at Home

As an alternative, Billy suggests that the wedding be held at their home. He takes much pride in the house he built himself as a young architect. The family mashes up a wedding impromptu and holds the wedding and reception in their beautiful backyard. Despite some things not going as planned, the wedding ends up being a breathtaking delight. Sofi’s parents also reconsider splitting up and plan to take that trip to Greece they never had a chance to.

Our Rating

Father of the Bride is a beautiful and breathtaking movie that is everything Mexican and Cubano you’ll fall in love with. It’s a beautiful beautiful film set in picturesque Miami. We loved the beautiful lesson of the film that family always sticks together and give it a 9.5/10. Enjoy watching Father of the Bride and stay tuned for more Movie Reviews. Salud!

Father of the Bride Book

The movie is based on a book by Edward Streeter that goes by the same name: Father of the Bride.

You can get the book on Amazon using the link below.

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