Be forewarned that probably 98% of the dialogue is in Spanish. I chose English on the screen for the subtitles, but none appeared. So, I chose English subtitles on my remote, and they appeared.
Next, I will point out something extraordinary about the collective ratings of the reviews. I tallied the various ratings from a random sample of 54 reviews, and found that 49 of them had a rating above the given mean rating for all those who submitted a rating! Only one rating was in the middle range of 5,6, or 7! So, where are all the missing reviews from those who rated the film below 7.5 needed to balance out to 7.5?? Clearly, the ratings of reviews represent a very biased sample of all ratings submitted!
This the second film(the other being "Overboard") I've recently seen in which Mexican Eugenio Derbez is the leading man. In both, he begins as a wealthy single playboy, constantly surrounded by nubile bimbos. In both films, soon, he involuntarily gives up his playboy lifestyle to become the surrogate father to one or more girls. In this film, he is presented with a baby girl by Julie: a former American fling, who immediately leaves on a flight for L. A., without giving him an address. The implication is that he is the father. What to do with the baby? He decides to keep it, with some help from a woman friend. Soon, he decides to hitchhike from Acapulco to L. A.(apparently, he's all of a sudden poor!?), with the baby, named Maggie, and look for Julie, his only clue being the name of a hotel in the background of a photo of her! Lacking a passport, he's rejected by immigration, but sneaks into a 18 wheeler loaded with illegal immigrants, who get through. He finds this hotel and inquires if they have seen Julie. They tell him that she used to work here, but was fired for being caught in an indiscretion in one of the rooms. They don't know where she has gone. For some? Reason, Eugenio(as Valentin) lays the baby down in a convenient basket in the lobby, and takes the elevator to the top floor. He enters a room and finds a movie director, who mumbles about the difficulty of finding a stuntman who's willing to fall from a high building. Valentin looks down from the open window, and sees Maggie crawling toward the swimming pool! He jumps out the window in an effort to save her from drowning. Miraculously, he lands in the deep end of the pool, rather than on the pool surround, where he should have landed, and saves Maggie from drowning! The director is impressed with his spontaneous daring, and offers him a job as a stuntman, which he takes. This entire episode looks awfully contrived!! Valentin gets settled with Maggie and mostly tends to her and plays with her in his spare time, for the next 4 years, until she is 6: a beautiful blonde, like her mother.
Well, you 'know' that eventually Julie is going to come looking for Maggie. Somehow?, she finds out that Valentin is in the L. A. area, and finds his address and phone number! She calls him up and tells him she wants to see Maggie, greatly disturbing Valentin, who fears she will want to take Maggie. His fear is eventually born out, and most of the last portion of the film is concerned with this conflict, ending in brief conciliation, before a tragic surprise ending.
A surreal event happens while Valentin and Maggie are walking down a LA road toward Acapulco, trying to escape the clutches of Julie. A 18 wheeler stops to pick them up, and when they open the door, they are horrified to find that Julie is the driver!! Conveniently, the film then switches to another time and place, leaving us wondering how this event played out!
The theme of the film is that, as a child, you should be trained to confront your fears and to be ready to deal with various unexpected challenges. As an example, Valentin and Maggie jump together off a high cliff overlooking the ocean near Acapulco.
Some think Eugenio is too ugly to be a leading man, and attract lots of bimbos. However, he has large, expressive, eyes that are perfect for expressing fear and anger, as shown in this film.
Next, I will point out something extraordinary about the collective ratings of the reviews. I tallied the various ratings from a random sample of 54 reviews, and found that 49 of them had a rating above the given mean rating for all those who submitted a rating! Only one rating was in the middle range of 5,6, or 7! So, where are all the missing reviews from those who rated the film below 7.5 needed to balance out to 7.5?? Clearly, the ratings of reviews represent a very biased sample of all ratings submitted!
This the second film(the other being "Overboard") I've recently seen in which Mexican Eugenio Derbez is the leading man. In both, he begins as a wealthy single playboy, constantly surrounded by nubile bimbos. In both films, soon, he involuntarily gives up his playboy lifestyle to become the surrogate father to one or more girls. In this film, he is presented with a baby girl by Julie: a former American fling, who immediately leaves on a flight for L. A., without giving him an address. The implication is that he is the father. What to do with the baby? He decides to keep it, with some help from a woman friend. Soon, he decides to hitchhike from Acapulco to L. A.(apparently, he's all of a sudden poor!?), with the baby, named Maggie, and look for Julie, his only clue being the name of a hotel in the background of a photo of her! Lacking a passport, he's rejected by immigration, but sneaks into a 18 wheeler loaded with illegal immigrants, who get through. He finds this hotel and inquires if they have seen Julie. They tell him that she used to work here, but was fired for being caught in an indiscretion in one of the rooms. They don't know where she has gone. For some? Reason, Eugenio(as Valentin) lays the baby down in a convenient basket in the lobby, and takes the elevator to the top floor. He enters a room and finds a movie director, who mumbles about the difficulty of finding a stuntman who's willing to fall from a high building. Valentin looks down from the open window, and sees Maggie crawling toward the swimming pool! He jumps out the window in an effort to save her from drowning. Miraculously, he lands in the deep end of the pool, rather than on the pool surround, where he should have landed, and saves Maggie from drowning! The director is impressed with his spontaneous daring, and offers him a job as a stuntman, which he takes. This entire episode looks awfully contrived!! Valentin gets settled with Maggie and mostly tends to her and plays with her in his spare time, for the next 4 years, until she is 6: a beautiful blonde, like her mother.
Well, you 'know' that eventually Julie is going to come looking for Maggie. Somehow?, she finds out that Valentin is in the L. A. area, and finds his address and phone number! She calls him up and tells him she wants to see Maggie, greatly disturbing Valentin, who fears she will want to take Maggie. His fear is eventually born out, and most of the last portion of the film is concerned with this conflict, ending in brief conciliation, before a tragic surprise ending.
A surreal event happens while Valentin and Maggie are walking down a LA road toward Acapulco, trying to escape the clutches of Julie. A 18 wheeler stops to pick them up, and when they open the door, they are horrified to find that Julie is the driver!! Conveniently, the film then switches to another time and place, leaving us wondering how this event played out!
The theme of the film is that, as a child, you should be trained to confront your fears and to be ready to deal with various unexpected challenges. As an example, Valentin and Maggie jump together off a high cliff overlooking the ocean near Acapulco.
Some think Eugenio is too ugly to be a leading man, and attract lots of bimbos. However, he has large, expressive, eyes that are perfect for expressing fear and anger, as shown in this film.