Did Eugenio Derbez have the week off? Who is this Jaime Camil guy? Aren’t all half-baked Mexican romance films required to pair off Eugenio with somebody who (understandably) takes an entire film to warm up to him? Oh, I see. Camil is a sit-com actor; well that would explain the casting for this sit-com plot. No need to “Buckle Up.” The R-rating here exists for suggested sex and Tourette’s-inspired language only. The rest may as well be a sweeps week episode of “Friends.” Oops. Lo siento, “Amigos.”
Jess (Sandra Echeverría) is coming off a bad break. Her long term squeeze misread a rooftop dinner. Instead of seeing she wanted a breakup, he summoned an engagement-ring bearing drone. The drone was then mishandled and chomped off a Three Stooges-size clump of Jess’ hair, but not before setting fire to another restaurant patron. So, was that a “no?”
In the aftermath, Jess fell asleep with a lit joint, which is a dumb thing to do under any circumstances, but especially when you own a waterbed. (In retrospect, maybe a waterbed is superior given the circumstances.) In searching for a new nighttime ride, Jess comes up with two solutions: a new mattress and the mattress store owner, Hank (Jaime Camil …are you sure that’s not “Cavill?” This guy reminds me of a middle-aged Mexican version of Henry Cavill) Aside from being a little too pushy as salesmen go, Hank is the perfect guy; he’s handsome, attentive, thoughtful, wealthy, single, engaging…what’s not to like? Do not despair, the film will answer that shortly, as will I. I don’t say it’s all an act, but Hank suffers from everything. He has Tourette’s, OCD, ADHD, IBS, IBM, CBS, and, especialidad, Pantelion. How does he function? His doctor (Jason Alexendar. Yes, Jason Alexander … and Brooke Shields is also in this film, which brings up several pre-teenage memories I will not share with this audience) has concocted a piñata of pills to make Hank behave like a normal person.
So what happens when high-powered exec Jess gets invited on the company retreat to the remote and wireless island of San Volitar and decides to take along her new boyfriend who has forgotten his meds? Hilarity! That’s what happens. Or at least I assume hilarity for others. As I said, this feels like a sitcom episode, and not a particularly relevant one – one of those where there’s a guest star only there for the crazy crap and we never see him again.
I won’t say Las Pildoras De Mi Novio (“My Boyfriend’s Meds”) was without charm. The film definitely tried for big humor – aside from the drone episode, there’s also a staggered reaction to the syndromes returning, first the OCD, then the Tourette’s, etc. However, I can’t say I was overly amused by the rendition of “Backstreet’s Back” on costume karaoke night which devolved into Hank aggressively humping the leg of somebody who wasn’t Jess. You want to laugh? Go ahead; this film is made for you. A mí … menos. ¿Entiendes?
There once was a high-powered Jess
Whose boy toy was an exquisite mess
His medicinal devotion
Earned her a demotion
Without Viagra, our woman got less
Rated R, 100 Minutes
Director: Diego Kaplan
Writer: Diego Kaplan
Genre: When you want to make a romantic film, but all you know of romance comes from episodes of “Three’s Company”
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People who have binged a sit-com
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Genuine film fans
