Film Review: THE VALET (2022): A Cute Comedy That Starts Strong but Fizzles Out at the End

The Valet Review

The Valet (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Richard Wong, written by Bob Fisher, Rob Greenberg and Francis Verber and starring Eugenio Derbez, Samara Weaving, Max Greenfield, Betsy Brandt, Carmen Salinas, Amaury Nolasco, Carlos Santos, Marisol Nichols, Diany Rodriguez, Tiana Okoye, John Pirruccello, Ravi Patel, Joshua Vasquez, Alex Fernandez, Noemi Gonzalez, Milena Rivero.

Eugenio Derbez is a gifted comic actor. He’s probably miscast in director Richard Wong’s film, The Valet, but nevertheless, Derbez makes the movie work quite well for much of its extended running time (it’s just over two hours). It’s a fun premise that is showcased in this new picture, to be sure, and Derbez makes it more interesting than it would have been with a different actor in the role. In fact, you could imagine someone more plausible being cast in it and it would have been a different film altogether.

I was one of the few who enjoyed Derbez and Anna Faris together in the long forgotten remake of Overboard from 2018. The Valet is cut from the same cloth as Overboard but is less successful as a whole. That’s because Samara Weaving could never be a romantic interest for Derbez. It’s not that Weaving is not a good actress and it’s not simply that she’s too glamorous for Derbez, it’s that the chemistry (romantic or otherwise) is completely off between them in The Valet.

With that being said, the zany, off-the-wall premise of The Valet is, for the most part, pure comic bliss to behold. Derbez stars as Antonio Flores, a valet who rides his bicycle around town, is living with his mom (the fantastic Carmen Salinas in her last screen performance) and is struggling in his life and in his marriage to a woman named Isabel (Marisol Nichols) who is now seeing someone else. Antonio is in the right place at the right time when he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time for a movie star named Olivia Allan (Samara Weaving) who is having an affair with a rich, married man named Vincent (Max Greenfield). It so happens that Vincent’s wife (Betsy Brandt) wouldn’t be happy if her husband was found cheating on her so a scheme is conceived that would make Olivia and Antonio seem like the couple having the love affair that the paparazzi catches in action one night. Don’t ask how this happens. It plays more believably than it sounds.

In a scenario straight out of the recent film Marry Me, Antonio and the glamorous Olivia must pose together as a couple. For reasons that would keep Vincent’s wife from being suspicious of the affair he was having with Olivia, it is agreed upon that Antonio will be paid a decent sum to hang out with Olivia and make them seem like a real couple. At a movie premiere of a film that Olivia stars in, Antonio is asked “who” he is wearing after being dressed in a tuxedo. He doesn’t understand the concept of wearing a fashion designer’s label like Hollywood does. Hilarity ensues as a result.

Weaving and Derbez make some music together with their chemistry in the film although they never really have any romantic sparks. In a hilarious scene, Olivia meets Antonio’s Spanish family and she learns how to enjoy a good meal while in another earlier one, Olivia ends up passed out in a car with Antonio and his buddies who go through a drive through and make a $39 order that the friends hilariously agree to split between them three ways. A terrific part is when Antonio and Olivia fake having sex at Olivia’s request to throw off the paparazzi and everyone else.

The Valet truly disappoints in a couple of places. The most notable failure of the movie is the ending which, while not exactly predictable, falls flat because of its inability to place the romantic partners found throughout the film in the right predicament. Another problem is the reliance on making Vincent a total sleazeball. I don’t think they needed to do that to get across the points the movie was trying to make. However, the movie shines with the portrayal of Antonio’s wise-cracking mom who steals every moment she’s in. Salinas is pure gold in her hilarious turn in the film as she bonds with her son, her grandson and even Olivia throughout the picture.

This film is based on an earlier work and since it is a remake, one cannot criticize things that were flawed about the original that are carried over into this new movie. Derbez is, as usual, a very appealing average Joe and Weaving is fun to watch as the spoiled movie star who has a bit of her own inner struggles that she deals with on a daily basis. I think the performances work better individually in this film than as an effective ensemble but there is still fun to be had with this movie despite this fact.

While The Valet has its problems, there are so many qualities about it that make it worth a watch. There is a moving plot development regarding Salinas’ mother character and Derbez has a great speech he makes in a church that touches the heart. There are scenes that are in this film that are emotionally satisfying and a few pretty big laughs along the way too. It may not be a perfect romance, but you’ll get your time’s worth watching this overlong but well meaning comedy.

Rating: 6.5/10

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