Look at the cast of the Father of the Bride remake, and you’ll see the extent of the Latine talent in Hollywood. Actors Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan are Cuban. Adria Arjona is Puerto Rican and Guatemalan. Isabel Merced is half Peruvian. Diego Boneta is Mexican.
“Latinos are not a monolith,” Boneta, 31, told Remezcla during a recent interview. “What’s different about all of us is our music, food, accents, culture, and history behind each country. Just because we speak Spanish doesn’t mean we’re all the same.”
The diversity in Father of the Bride is one of the things that attracted Boneta to the project. The film follows Billy and Ingrid Herrera (Garcia and Estefan), a pair of Cuban parents, who learn that their daughter Sofia (Arjona) has gotten engaged to Adan Castillo (Boneta), a fellow lawyer from a Mexican family.
To see a Cuban and Mexican family portrayed in the same movie in Hollywood is rare. Many times, a rom-com like Father of the Bride would include a storyline where a Latina character became romantically involved with a non-Latine. Think of movies like Maid in Manhattan, Fools Rush In, The Wedding Planner, Our Family Wedding, Hitch, and West Side Story, among others.
“This is the first time I can think of where a movie brings two Latin families together from different backgrounds,” Boneta said. “That’s my favorite part of this movie. The producers really fought for that. Showcasing those similarities and those differences is what this movie is all about.”
While Father of the Bride has some parallels with the 1950 version starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor and the 1991 version starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton, it is its own movie. One of the ways it’s different from the other two films is that in the latest version, the father and mother of the bride are going to marriage counseling and considering getting a divorce.
“Something that sets it apart from the other movies is that conflict,” Boneta said. “There’s that farce of them having to act like everything is OK. It was a great twist to the movie.”
Interesting tweaks to the narrative and the fact that most of the cast is Latine is what excited Boneta the most. For him, however, making a movie with a Latine cast doesn’t mean people should simply label the new film as the “Latino version of Father of the Bride.” He said it’s more than that.
“I see it as the 2022 version of Father of the Bride,” he said. “It’s a story of Latinos, not a story about Latinos. It’s culturally specific and authentic but remains universally themed.”
That universality should help Father of the Bride reach more non-Latine audiences and could help encourage other Hollywood studios to continue to invest in Latine content and talent. It’s something Boneta has been championing since his career started in the United States nearly 15 years ago.
“I’m all for more representation,” he said. “I’ve seen progress, but I still think we have a way to go. I think movies like this one help in a big way.”
Father of the Bride, which stars Diego Boneta, premieres June 16 on HBO Max.
