The consummate veteran, Aleandro milks the role with relish playing an uncouth yet lovable foul-mouth with the excuse that shes lost her marbles. Norma Aleandro escapes such embarrassment with the script. Hector Alterio is perfectly suited for the role of Rafaels father, displaying compassion and understanding if only the script did not give him some really disagreeable scenes one a maudlin monologue and another of him phoning old friends while being unsure whether they are still alive. (Argentina made a wise choice in picking Son of the Bride over the empty, over-praised Nine Queens for its Academy Award submission.) While Darin lacks charisma and cannot quite carry Son of the Bride on his shoulders, he absolutely nails Rafaels character arc with convincing precision. Ricardo Darin also stars in the soon-to-be-released Nine Queens.
The way a professional wrestler half-beaten to death gets a second wind, Son of the Bride seemingly wills itself into good graces through the sheer power of the performances.
Yet just when the movie is about to turn into a third-rate Its a Wonderful Life, it starts to redeem itself. A pair of glasses Rafael owns becomes an overbearing metaphor. This not unfunny scene could have been charming but comes across as contrived. They end up as extras and get into a fight in the background of the shoot. For no good reason, Juan Carlos, now an actor, drags Rafael to a film shoot to tell him a secret. Will he sell the restaurant? Is his life better modeled after corporate efficiency or with personal clutter?Įven the jokes become more forced as the movie progresses. Now seeking redemption in his mothers eyes, he finds her barely capable of even recognizing him. The movie turns into Darins guilt over his past how he abandoned law school only to reluctantly take up the family business as a restaurateur. Only in the movies do unhandsome 42-year old men drop young, perfect girlfriends with model looks instead of clinging onto them like life rafts. Writer Fernando Castets and co-writer/director Juan Jose Campanella manufacture a fight between Darin and Nati just because the movie calls for Rafaels life to fall apart. A first swerve towards sentimentality quickly becomes a plunge into outright sappiness. From there, Son of the Bride descends into sheer melodrama. The latter includes Norma calling her son a rascal in the most gentle and loving tone imaginable Natis eyes as Rafael interrupts their time together to pick up yet another phone call little Victoria playing with the retainer in her mouth. Up until this point, Son of the Bride, is quick on its feet, breezes with zippy dialogue, and presents little details with meaningfulness that belie their brevity. Then Rafael has an experience that makes him re-examine his life completely and he considers dropping out and moving to Mexico. Making his life even more hectic, his old friend, Juan Carlos (Eduardo Blanco), returns after a long absence sporting a tragic revelation.
Rafaels ex-wife, Sandra (Claudia Fontan), hassles him about being a better father to their daughter, Victoria (Gimena Nobile), and he also has trouble keeping up with his young, gorgeous girlfriend, Nati (Natalia Verbeke). Nino is disappointed by Rafaels pleas about the expense and that Norma wont even be aware of what is going on. His one-time savior mother, Norma (Norma Aleandro), now suffers from Alzheimers and lives in a nursing home.His father, Nino (Hector Alterio), hatches a scheme to remarry her in a church as she had always wanted. Dealing with suppliers and the expense of mascarpone in tiramisu, his life is lived from one cell phone call to the next. Cue his best friend, Juan Carlos, who shows up just in time to save him, and they run home screaming for mommy.įorward to the present, and Rafael (Ricardo Darin) is 42-years old and runs the family Italian restaurant in Argentina. Rafael can barely keep his Zorro hat on his head before he trips and begins receiving a beating. Together, they give chase after the crude impersonator, Rafael Belvedere.
The Zorro-wannabe unleashes a stone from his slingshot that knocks the kid down, humiliating him in front of his friends. Looking up, he sees the culprit, Zorro, or rather, a pint-sized facsimile. Son of the Bride opens with a young boy discovering that his ball has been slashed apart in the shape of a Z.