Instructions Not Included (2013) Review: Laughs Before Tears

Is Instructions Not Included worth watching?

Yes. Instructions Not Included is a big-hearted comedy-drama that earns its huge popular success, thanks to Eugenio Derbez’s warm performance and a father-daughter bond that is genuinely touching. Derbez directs with a crowd-pleaser’s instinct, mixing slapstick with sincere emotion, and the chemistry between him and young Loreto Peralta carries the film. Critics were more divided than audiences, largely over its unashamed sentimentality and a final act that turns sharply towards melodrama, but for most viewers its warmth is irresistible.

What is Instructions Not Included about?

Instructions Not Included follows Valentín (Eugenio Derbez), a carefree womaniser in Acapulco who has spent his adult life avoiding responsibility. That changes when Julie (Jessica Lindsey), an American woman from his past, turns up on his doorstep with a baby, announces that the child is his and disappears. With no idea how to care for an infant, Valentín heads to Los Angeles to find the mother and hand the baby back.

Instead, he stays. Unable to speak much English, he stumbles into work as a Hollywood stuntman and, over the years, raises his daughter Maggie (Loreto Peralta) in a colourful, unconventional home, doing whatever it takes to keep her happy and protect her from the fact that her mother left. Eugenio Derbez directs this Mexican production in Spanish and English, and it runs 122 minutes. It became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film in United States box-office history at the time of its release.

Derbez’s comic timing and sincerity

Derbez was already one of Mexico’s biggest television comedians, and his gift for physical comedy is on full display here. The stunt-work scenes, in which a man who is afraid of almost everything throws himself off buildings and into danger for his daughter’s sake, are both funny and quietly touching. He plays Valentín’s cowardice and devotion with the same expressive face, so that the laughter and the emotion come from the same place.

He is also generous as a director, giving the film a bright, sunny look and a rhythm that moves easily between comic set pieces and quieter domestic moments. The early Acapulco scenes, with their satirical sense of a man-child’s paradise, set up Valentín’s transformation neatly.

A father-daughter story with real heart

The film’s centre is the relationship between Valentín and Maggie, and it is where the film shines. Loreto Peralta gives Maggie a quick-witted confidence and sweetness that never feels saccharine, and the pair have an easy, affectionate rapport. The rituals they invent, the games, the made-up stories and the elaborate efforts Valentín makes to keep her world stable, are charming and lend the film its emotional weight.

The bilingual setting adds texture, too. Valentín’s struggles with English and with life in Los Angeles give the film a gentle immigrant comedy, and the blend of Spanish and English dialogue helped it reach audiences on both sides of the border.

Where the sentiment tips over

Instructions Not Included is not subtle, and it does not want to be. Some supporting characters are broad caricatures, the plot relies on coincidence, and the final act shifts into full-blown melodrama with a turn that some viewers find manipulative. The tonal shift is abrupt, and the film leans hard on the audience’s tear ducts. Those who dislike sentimental storytelling may feel pushed. Yet the performances are sincere enough that, for most, the emotional punch lands.

Who should watch Instructions Not Included?

It is ideal for families, fans of Latin American comedy and anyone who enjoys stories about unconventional parenting. It works for older children and teenagers, with some innuendo early on and emotionally intense material later. At just over two hours, it is a comfortable evening’s watch, but keep tissues nearby.

If you enjoy its mix of laughter and heartache, try these:

• Y Tu Mamá También, Alfonso Cuarón’s Mexican road movie, which also moves from comedy to an unexpected emotional undertow.
• Roma, Cuarón’s tender portrait of a Mexican household held together by love and care.

The verdict

Instructions Not Included is a warm, funny and deeply felt comedy-drama that wins you over through sheer sincerity. Its melodramatic final stretch will not suit everyone, but Eugenio Derbez and Loreto Peralta create a father-daughter bond that makes it one of the most beloved Mexican popular films of its era.

Rating: 4.5/5