Kevin Murnane

A lot of fun, twists and turns along the way and ultimately a really great “feel good” movie. There’s nothing not to like about it. Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan ooze chemistry. You can sense the tension between a husband and wife who still love each other but too many words have gotten in the way. It’s easy to read onscreen that these two are best friends in real life and it’s hard to play the role of the husband and wife in a desperate state. But they obviously worked closely together and have managed to balance it with perfect timing and subtlety. The story unfolding of the Cuban and the Mexican families trying to convince themselves that they are worlds apart when they are so similar is done with great irony and the scenery around Miami as the backdrop is as always another highlight. Shame Gloria Estefan didn’t sing but I guess she’s not playing herself. Would be odd to think the wife just happens to have a fabulous voice that sounds like Gloria Estefan 😂 However we are rewarded a mariachi version of Pharell Williams hot hit “Get Lucky” and that in itself is a gem. I removed one star only because there were moments that could have been funnier and sort of become missed opportunities but not too often thankfully and when the comedy works, it’s perfect. Definitely a family movie and one to snuggle up with your loved ones on a Sunday evening with the winter nights creeping in. This will definitely feel like a little bit of summer is still in the air.

I LOVED the movie. Yes it has some issues but honestly the majority of it was wonderful for me. I loved the slow build and brooding atmosphere. Sometimes it even projected the mood of an 80's coming of age film like "Rivers Edge" and was truly quite John Carpenter-esque in parts. I felt it drip with the essence of his classic "Christine". The character of Corey was really interesting to me because he starts off a really nice and kind guy with a bright future ahead of him, like Laurie Strode of '78, even down to sharing an enjoyment of chocolate milk and then he descends into a monster. I really liked how they orchestrated that spiral. He was a mirror of Laurie. Laurie's response was to step into the light after her trauma and Corey chose to step into the dark. One represented the survivor of trauma and the other, a victim of it.