Week Seven: Diversity & Inclusion III

Introduction

This week we were assigned to watch Instructions Not Included. The film is about a "player" whos life gets flipped upsidedown when one of his ex-lovers shows up at his door with his newborn. Then he goes on a journey to LA to find the mother and return the baby. 

Overall Impression

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I actually really enjoyed watching this movie. When it first started playing, I honestly didn't know what to think. As it went on, I ended up liking it more and more. I really liked watching the progression of Valentin and Maggie's relationship. The two went from going on a journey to be separated to being inseparable. Not only was the film funny at times, but it was also very serious and heartwarming. I've already recommended it to a bunch of my friends, primarily because I want to crush their hearts the way mine was. The most jawdropping scene for me wasn't even something I noticed, but rather something Doctora pointed at. That scene being near the end when it was revealed that Lupe was actually a girl. Being as though the movie was in Spanish, and I'm horrible at it, I wasn't able to pick up on the fact that Lupe was a girl's name and I just assumed Lupe was replaced with a new truck driver. 


Accuracy of the Title

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Personally, I like the English title of this movie and believed it fit very well. Not only does the title fit well with the plot of the movie, but it is also light-hearted and silly. In the movie, Valentin has no idea how to parent well. He's only ever lived an extreme selfish lifestyle and wanted to keep it that way. Being as though he was just randomly given a baby, he didn't have "instructions" as to how to be a good parent, nor did he really have the time to figure it out. The English title hints at what the movies about, without giving too much information away. In Spanish, the title of this movie translates to "No Returns". I do like this title as well, but I feel like the English title fits better. "No Returns" is harsher and only applies to the beginning when he wants to give Maggie back to Julie, but the majority of the film is his parenting and fighting for her instead. That's why I believe the English title is a better choice for this film. 

Review

The review I found for this movie was on The LA Times, by Annlee Ellingson. The review is mainly a summary of the movie. It also includes details on the star, Eugenio Derbez, like the fact that he not only starred in it, he also directed it. The review also says that the performances are "cartoonish" and the film mainly targets a Latino audience. 

Comments

  1. Avery PhillipsOctober 6, 2019 at 6:32 PM

    Tonilynn, I enjoyed your post! I also really loved watching Instructions Not Included (who wouldn't!), and I would also recommend it to some of my friends. I see that we ended up reading the same review! I found the review mainly to be a summary of the film as well. Thanks for sharing!

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