Instructions Not Included (No se Aceptan Devoluciones)

Comedy, in and of itself, is one of the best genres to be able to sit back and escape into something fun, rollicking, adventurous, playful and humorous hopefully all rolled into one. But for the better part of the last two decades, it is rare to find a few of these adjectives mentioned, much less all of them which makes watching them, at times, painful. Once in a while, one will fall into your lap that is a film that comes in through the back door, where a lot of people have hardly heard of it, that is simply a gem with a great message. One fell into my lap, and it is titled "Instructions Not Included" (No se Aceptan Devoluciones).

Valentin Bravo (Eugenio Derbez) is Acapulco's resident playboy until a former fling, Julie (Jessica Lindsey) leaves her new baby girl on his doorstep claiming he is the father and takes off without a trace. Leaving Mexico to find Julie, Valentin ends up in L.A. finding a new home for himself and his newfound daughter, Maggie. An unlikely father figure, Valentin raises Maggie (Loreto Peralta) for six years while, through his boss/friend, Frank Ryan (Daniel Raymont), also establishing himself as one of Hollywood's top stuntmen to pay the bills, with Maggie acting as his on-set coach/interpreter. As Valentin raises Maggie, she forces him to grow up as well, but their unique and offbeat family is threatened when Julie reappears out of the blue, and Valentin realizes he's in danger of losing his daughter--and his best friend.

Others to round out the cast are Alessandra Rosaldo as Renee, Hugo Stiglitz as Johnny Bravo, Valentin's dad, Sammy Perez as Sammy, Arcelia Ramirez as Judeisy, Agustin Bernal as Lupe, a trucker, Karla Souza as Jackie, Margarita Wynne as Sofia, and Ari Brickman as Director.

This was incredibly well directed by Eugenio Derbez (A ton of TV to his directing credit). The pathos that not only he showcased, but through others in the cast was simply amazing. I smell Oscar nomination around this film. This was brilliantly written by Guillermo Rios and Leticia Lopez Margalli with Derbez as contributing writer. Even with the subtitles, the cohesiveness of this is awesome. Derbez undoubtedly can do it all-- directing, writing and acting. I can understand clearly why his TV shows in Mexico are all doing well in the ratings. Since this is his first time out as director of a theatrical film, I'm anxious to see what he plans to direct next as I'm sure he will.

If you are looking for a subtle, but funny comedy, that is poignant where it will have you laughing and crying in some scenes with a great message about how we connect as family, this IS the film for you. This is one that will 'talk' to you all the while entertaining you at the same time.

Out of 4 Stars: 4                          Rated: PG-13                         122mins.