My cousin had recommended this to me a while back and it’s been on my list to watch, so I decided to give it a go. From what I remember my cousin telling me, I had immediately thought it would be the Spanish version of Big Daddy. Don’t get me wrong, this movie does have some Big Daddy qualities, but the main difference, it was never juvenile. The comedy coincided with Valentin’s character, but the comedy changed as the character developed.
The acting was pretty good from all parties, so no qualms there. I did like that the people that were bilingual in this movie are actually bilingual people. It made for smooth dialogue and you could tell that it was never a struggle to get their lines out.
From the get-go its obvious that Valentin wants nothing to do with children. Being the type of movie that it is, you know he’s going to love Maggie and would truly do anything for her. I absolutely loved that at times, he and Maggie would be wearing the same outfit – he really went all out. From what I read on IMDB, Maggie’s character was actually supposed to be a boy, but I’m really happy they didn’t find anyone right, and ended up with Loreta Peralta. I think it made it that much more heartfelt to see Valentin’s relationship with his daughter.
I’m not one to cry during movies, but this movie had me in tears… twice! I don’t want to give anything away because I think this is a great movie for people of all ages. It has the typical ups and downs, but it does have a curve ball thrown in. The director was able to blend the comedy and drama together, but also knew when to keep the two separate.
I got my mom to watch it and she loved it.
***SPOILER ALERT***
My heart sank when Valentin found out Maggie wasn’t his. He sacrificed everything he had for his daughter and to find out she wasn’t his, was a big blow.
Then, what made it worse is that we find out that it was Maggie who had one foot in deaths door! I thought it was the dad, but looking back, Maggie’s “vitamin” bottle was funny looking. That’s when it hit me as to why he spoiled her so much, didn’t mind if she skipped school, kept giving her letters from her “mom” to ensure that she felt love, and mainly just spending every waking moment with her. He wasn’t “overcompensating” as the principle said because her mother abandoned her, he was doing it because he knew she was going to die.
The part at the end when the mom was there with the cop to take Maggie, and Valentin holds up $10 and asks if she needs to pay the cab left the biggest lump in my throat.
It really put things in perspective with regards to him knowing that she didn’t have much time left and he did what he felt was important. He really wanted her to love and enjoy life to the fullest.
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