laninaframboise
Being bilingual, and knowing well how it can be with cultural differences, I had high hopes for this movie, however, within the first 10 minutes I realized this was not going to be any Walk in the Clouds. :) I was disgusted by the shallow character of "Matt". For wanting to find the right "upstanding" girl, he sure wasn't willing to be an "upstanding" moral guy with very superficial taste. So he didn't have me on his side from the moment he hooked up with a girl on their first date. :( And it it put me over the top the whole scene when he gets to Columbia at the Agencia del Amor and there's a statement made "I feel like a kid in a candy store." was so disgusting I wanted to hurl. How about giving some dignity to women instead of lusting after them? On the plus side, the high rate of infidelity and the religious, cultural and linguistic prejudices are quite accurate I felt. However, I personally find it difficult to believe that two people can fall in love without being able to converse properly. I also feel that in a situation like that of Rebecca's (coming to the US to live without knowing him for very long) that the least of her worries would be that she would have to do everything herself! How about living in a dump of a house to a lazy jerk who abuses you or makes you his slave in whatever sense? Now that would have my sympathy! Not to mention that I would say the vast majority of women in other countries do cook and clean etc for themselves and cannot afford a maid!!! Super unrealistic. Also, I didn't appreciate the slap-stick way the other workers at Agencia del Amor poked fun, and almost humiliated the more indigenous worker. Very saddened to see that, although I know the Telenovelas or other comedies in Spanish indeed do do that, it doesn't need to be passed on!! Needless to say I was disappointed and can't recommend unfortunately.
torrentstorm
So in the end, why was this movie made? It resembled a Latin telenovela (soap opera), with stereotyped acting by stereotyped players with similar characteristics and actions. Nothing new here.Then, we have the clichés: beautiful Latin girls wanting to meet a "rich" man from another country, with the hopes he will have a nice house or apartment, a nice car, and money enough to pay for a maid to do the cleaning and the cooking. The hero in the movie, Matt, was just the ticket, except he didn't hire a maid for his new wife. Instead, she had to try to do all herself, which provoked a crisis that drove her away? More clichés and stereotypes, true ones, maybe, but why do I need to go to a movie for 1½ hours to see this? But wait, there's more! The girl's father a retired armed forces officer, wanting to use his gun on her cheating latino boyfriend (but they neglected to mention that most of these servicemen have their own mistresses and girlfriends too - I lived in Colombia and Venezuela for 30 years - I knew these well); the girl missing the big family wedding back home for having married in Miami in a civil ceremony; the dating agency touting beautiful Colombian girls from Cali (as if it is a secret that Cali has many strikingly beautiful women), and the white-eyed gringos flocking to date them and/or get them pregnant; the stupid girl going back home and believe her ex-cheating boyfriend had 'reformed', where everyone that has been in Latin America knows these stories very well - well, in short, this movie reminded me of something I know and saw, and didn't want to be reminded of again.So again, why was this movie made? To show that if the guy loves the girl, he can compromise and live with her in her country? We know that! That being said, there isn't anything else worthwhile seeing except some pretty latinas, with what we experts now know as false beauties, all eye candy, but watch out for what's underneath.A poorly written telenovela, because on Latin TV's you see better. One thing I'd like to know: why, if they wanted everything to be typical, did they not feature typical Colombian music, which is the cumbia and the salsa? No, they featured Andean music, not untraditional, but not the kind they listen to everyday. Only one song was a salsa. Weird. So I ask: what were they trying to prove? Make a movie more acceptable to foreign taste? If so, they succeeded, but for bad foreign taste.
Carol Kane
Gringo Wedding is an excellent romantic comedy between two young lovers that are destined to be together and everything that comes up in between! The acting is superb and the story flows and is fast moving! The photography is authentic and beautifully done! The movie really brings love together for all of us! The ending is magnificent! I have seen the movie twice and I enjoyed it even more the second time! And it is rare for me to enjoy a film the second time. For me that really means it is a quality film. The story really brings together the differences in culture between Americans and Latin Americans and really bridges the gap in a wonderful and charming way! I highly recommend Gringo Wedding. I could definitely see it again!
