Instructions Not Included

This is not a comedy. The summary on IMDb could lead you to wrong expectations from this movie. It is somewhat funny, but it definitely isn't a comedy. It is a beautiful, deeply emotional drama about the relationship between a single father and his daughter and about ways they handle all the twists life brings. If you did not shed a single tear during this movie, please go to X-ray and check if you have a heart at all. Technically, it is not anything special, just average production, but the emotion it carries is priceless.

8,5/10

I'll be honest, I was dragged in to see this movie but was quickly enthused and charmed by the undeniable chemistry between father and daughter(Eugenio Derbez, Loreta Peralta). The very first minutes weren't exactly my cup of tea but it it gets to the point eagerly and you get the whole message of the title along with it. Don't confuse it for just another meager Disney squall of becoming a family film. No where throughout the movie did I remember the pacifier or the Game Plan those were particularly distasteful movies I could hope to forget. Instructions Not Included finds heart and answers many questions all of us have asked about life. All the troubles and dismay we go through are for not, the very essence of where we have placed our hopes lie within the children we take care of and honestly there aren't any instructions included through the sobs, the laughs, and the peace we come to while they teach us how to grow.

Watch this movie and I promise you won't forget it and bring a box of Kleenex for your tears.

Instructions Not Included (2013)

A mostly Mexican comedy about a single man who abruptly finds himself raising a baby girl. And things get funny and wild from there, and enchanting. The goofiness that makes you think the movie is actually kind of stupid (or even bad) mellows and sharpens up as it goes and after half an hour there is a different kind of humor and warmth that really works.

Part of the magic here is the two leads—the father and the little girl—are terrific. And they get along in a way that makes the whole movie buzz. There are still a few corny jokes, but mostly the humor is made up of the funny feelgood things that come along in life.

Amazingly this is Eugenio Derbez's first stab at a feature movie, after years of Mexican television. In fact, the first half hour is exactly like Mexican television. And we all grow out of it together, which is a relief and a sign that there might be more good things to come from this man. (This is true of Mexican directors in general, take note of the last two winners of Best Picture, 2013 and 2014, along with their cinematographer.)

So if you expect something canned or obvious here, you'll be surprised. What you do get above all is a sincere, human drama that is mostly airy and fresh. There are some silly clichés—characters who play types and only the thinnest of those types—but we are lucky that almost all of the movie includes the leading man and the little girl. Watch this and make sure you stick it out past the establishing scenes that build up for a good half hour.

I was going to be politically correct and leave 8 out of 10 stars for this but then again could not think of the flaws that would justify the missing 2 stars so I threw in another. The last one is always reserved for technicalities, photography, sound, music, etc. An excellent example of how a simple movie can be so powerful. What could be more important than a parent/child relationship? I specially felt the plot as a father who was separated from an only child at a very early age. Great performance by Eugenio Derbez (Valentin), Jessica Lindsey (Julie) and Loreto Peralta (Maggie). I can't remember the last time I cracked up so much not having enough time to discreetly wipe my tears. That look in Julie's face when she encounters Maggie is worth seeing this alone; a moment which can not be easily replicated. Highly recommended.

After watching "Instructions not included" I can say it is a very good movie. It's not the classic Hollywood comedy. Yes, you will have to read the subtitles sometimes and certainly it is not the classical familiar comedy. Nevertheless it is a very good movie. Forget "Fish out of water father" films, that part is only a fraction in this one nor is the Kramer vs Kramer type although has its part. The film tackles on how to confront life, how to enjoy life and how to deal with lost but all these through a roller-coaster of laughs, tears and other feelings in between. If you are bilingual (English & Spanish speaker), this is a must. This film will be remembered for years to come as the one that broke the inertia of Mexican cinema and probably will sign a new kind of films to come. Go watch it.