Andy Garcia to Star in Latinx Remake of ‘Father of the Bride’
The beloved 1991 film Father of the Bride starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton and written by Nancy Meyers is getting a Latinx makeover and Cuban actor Andy Garcia is set to star as the patriarch
Photo: Wiki Commons
The beloved 1991 film Father of the Bride starring Steve Martin and Diane Keaton and written by Nancy Meyers is getting a Latinx makeover and Cuban actor Andy Garcia is set to star as the patriarch. The remake follows the same concept as the original with a father coming to grips with his daughter’s upcoming nuptials and this time it’s with a Cuban-American family. The 64-year-old actor is known for films including The Untouchables, Stand and Deliver, The Godfather Part III, and the Mama Mia sequel. The 1991 version of Father of the Bride is known to be a heartwarming, family film so it seems to be a departure from his usual roles allowing us to see him as as the loving and goofy father figure Steve Martin made famous. Deadline reported that this film will be more of a romantic comedy than the previous films including the original from 1950.
“I’m very excited to join The Father of the Bride, a beloved film that has brought so much joy to so many over the years and to represent my Cuban culture and heritage in this story,” Garcia said in a statement. “I commend Warner Bros. for their foresight and celebrate this opportunity they have created. I am looking forward to my collaboration with our talented director Gaz Alazraki and producers Jeremy Kleiner and Dede Gardner from Plan B.”
The film will be directed by Gaz Alazraki (Club de Cuervos on Netflix) and written by Matt Lopez who has worked on Disney films including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Race to Witch Mountain. Sources say Lopez was inspired by his own cross-cultural nuptials and the Cuban weddings he has attended which were epic in scale, Deadline reported.
There’s no word yet on the casting for the rest of the family though Justina Machado as the matriarch would be a great casting choice considering her work on One Day at a Time. Eugenio Derbez would be perfect in the role of the quirky and hard-to-understand wedding planner Franck Eggelhoffer, originally played by Martin Short. Considering they tapped Garcia for the lead role we’re hopeful that the rest of the casting will be just as good.
The film is a huge step toward more Latinx representation in Hollywood, both behind and in front of the camera. Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in partnership with National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) and Wise Entertainment released a report in 2019 tracking the lack of representation of the Latinx community in Hollywood.
Only 3 percent of movies featured Latinx actors in lead roles from 2007 through 2018 in the 100 top-grossing films. J. Lo, Cameron Diaz, Eugenio Derbez, and Jessica Alba held 16 of those 35 lead roles surveyed. The report also saw that nearly one-half of the Latinx leads or co-leads were women, but five of the 17 leading ladies were played by Cameron Diaz, who is of Cuban descent. Only eight male and two female leads (both played by J.Lo), co-leads or members of an ensemble cast were 45 years of age or older at the time of theatrical release. In all, Latinx characters made up only 4.5 percent of the 47,268 total studied.
To have a film, especially one centered on a Cuban-American family, representing Latinidad is a major win for us and hopefully there will be more to come.
