The Valet is a heartwarming romp of a film that is sure to bring a smile to the faces of every viewer, and perhaps a tear or two as well. Utterly charming.
The Valet is an adorable and fun romantic comedy that tells a surprisingly heartwarming story, while at the same time throwing in some important lessons about not judging a book by its cover. Heck, there is even a little bit of racism awareness thrown in — subtle enough to not be thrown in the face of the audience and take away from the story, but direct enough to make a point. This movie stars Samara Weaving as Olivia, a beautiful movie star, Eugenio Derbez as Antonio, a newly separated valet who keeps to himself and just goes through the motions of life, and Max Greenfield plays Vincent Royce, a narcistic millionaire.
The plot is exactly what you would expect from a romantic comedy. Olivia and Vincent are in a relationship. The problem is, Vincent is married. Even though he continuously tells Olivia that he plans to divorce his wife for her, this is not true at all because he is a afraid of losing his money and company to her. When the two lovers are photographed by the paparazzi, they must come up with a plan to keep their relationship a secret.
This is where Antonio comes in. He was also in the photo, so Vincent offers to pay him to pretend to be Olivia’s boyfriend to keep suspense off Vincent. He agrees, but Antonio is newly separated from his wife, whom he wants back, so of course this brings in even more antics and added layers. This is the same premise as 2006’s The Valet, a French film.
One of the best parts of this movie is the reaction that Antonio’s family, friends, and coworkers have to his relationship with Olivia. In order to keep it believable, he doesn’t tell them that it is all a ruse, which has them truly baffled how this shy and self conscious guy could land a movie star like Olivia. The running jokes about how he must be a wonderful Latin lover just get funnier and funnier.
Betsy Brandt plays Kathryn Royce, Vincent’s wife, and she doesn’t believe his scheme for a second. She isn’t in the film much, but when she is, she is fantastic. Greenfield himself is fantastic in this movie as well. He makes his character very easy to hate, pretty much right from the start. He comes from a background in comedy and so having most of the jokes on him is a refreshing change, and one that he portrays very well.
As for Weaving and Derbez, their on screen chemistry is what makes The Valet work as well as it does. Audiences will instantly connect with Antonio, and open up to Olivia as the movie goes on. The two help each other out which brings the heartwarming energy to this hilariously funny film. These two absolutely light up the screen. making this a must watch romantic comedy. They clearly had a blast together while filming, which oozes through their performances.
Carmen Salinas, who plays Antonio’s mother, steals quite a bit of the show herself. The two don’t speak English when they talk — which is a nice bit of representation on screen. Don’t worry non-Spanish speakers, there are subtitles so you won’t miss out on the jokes.
The Valet isn’t as predictable as you might think, either. Sure, certain things happen that are easy to call, but there are some twists, turns, and surprises along the way that will have audiences rolling with laughter — and shedding some tears. This is the perfect movie night choice. So grab your boyfriend, girlfriend, or best friend, and watch The Valet on Hulu May 20th!
Rating: 4 out of 5
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About The Valet
In The Valet, world famous movie star, Olivia (Samara Weaving) faces a PR disaster when a paparazzi snaps a photo of her with her married lover, Vincent (Max Greenfield). The hard-working valet Antonio (Eugenio Derbez) accidentally appears in the same photo and is enlisted to pose as Olivia’s new boyfriend as a cover up. This ruse with Olivia thrusts Antonio into the spotlight and unexpected chaos. In this fish out of water romantic comedy, two worlds and cultures collide as both Olivia and Antonio start to see themselves more clearly than ever before.
The Valet, directed by Richard Wong and written by Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher, is the English-language remake of the hit French film.
