Un Padre No Tan Padre

I saw this Mexican comedy tonight at my local theater in Northwest Indiana, and although I guess was expecting more based on what I had heard about it, I thought it was pretty good.

The plot concerns an elderly retired man who gets kicked out of the retirement home in which he lives, and goes to the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende in order to live with his middle-aged son. The son lives with around 8 or 10 other people in a large house, in sort of a commune atmosphere. For example, a gay couple live there, along with a guy who sells drugs to locals. Also, an American woman and a man from England live with the son. Those two run a coffee shop. A Cuban guitarist is also a resident. So the commune culture and establishment clash, so to speak, when the 80 something year-old father comes to live there. A lot of the comedy is based on that premise, so some of those jokes are fairly predictable.

However, what makes the film pretty decent is the fact that it has good character development, despite the fact that there are a larger number of supporting roles.

The movie has very good cinematography also(many great shots of San Miguel).

In addition, I think this film is well directed ; the timing, holding of shots for the right amount of time, etc, are all good.

Note that this movie is in Spanish with English subtitles.

This was a mostly entertaining, enjoyable movie. The story revolves around a curmudgeonly old man who after being kicked out of his retirement home goes to live with his youngest son in his somewhat unconventional home. After adjustments are made by everyone involved, conflicts are solved and satisfactory ending results. It certainly wasn't groundbreaking but a pleasant way to pass some time.

The film does not have a defined plot, things happen because yes, there are no concrete reasons to justify the acting of the characters, there is not a good development of all the characters, the script is bad, the ending is very forgettable, you cannot empathize with no one, there are too many characters and the film and its message cannot be taken seriously when there are jokes that contradict the values that seek to generate a positive change in the characters. The only good thing is the production design and the locations where it was filmed.

It does not leave any teaching or add anything new, it just becomes another film without story development.

Un Padre No Tan Padre presents a story of a mean elderly man that for reasons outside of his control he must stay with his youngest son. This plot is far from anything you would consider new or ground breaking although the plot may have been done before this movies is worth the watch. Un Padre will make laugh but it truly shines by pulling at the heart strings. This film will have you invested in most of the characters while some of the dialog may be offensive, I believe the dialog is necessary to show the natural progression of the characters. So overall I would recommend this film to anyone who likes their movies with a bit Comedy and a lot of Emotion. ( FYI this film is in Spanish with English subtitles )

It has good performances, an entertaining plot and beautiful landscapes, I recommend it.