Here we are again with another remake of a Steve Martin flick, which itself is also a remake originally based on the novel by Edward Streeter. This version of Father of the Bride turns the Banks family into the Herraras, a Cuban American family led by the grumpy patriarch Billy Herrera (Andy Garcia). Billy is having a tough time – his marriage is on the rocks and his two daughters are all grown with independent lives. It seems there is nothing Billy can do to mitigate an incoming disaster when his eldest gets engaged.

Father of the Bride takes on the same tired narrative but offers a few twists. The titular bride, Sofia (Adria Arjona), is the ideal daughter. But her progressive ways directly conflict with Billy’s old-school ways, which drives the narrative. When visiting the family, Sofia casually announces her engagement to a man she has only known for a short while, but what sets Billy off is that his little girl was the one to propose. The audience then meets Adan Castillo (Diego Boneta), a kind person who cares about the world and is eager to work alongside Sofia at a non-profit organisation in Mexico (also his home country), which is another thorn in Billy’s side.

What transpires when the bride’s father meets his soon-to-be-son-in-law and his family is a series of instances fueled by prejudice and a lot of pride. The wealth disparity between the bride’s family and the groom is not that much of an issue in this iteration. Rather, Billy’s fears and anxieties stem from feeling unneeded and not being in charge. Like the previous films, the titular father is forced to reconcile with the fact that his daughter is an adult and he needs to change to preserve his relationship with her and the family at large.

All that said, director Gary Alazraki’s competent filmmaking, paired with Terence Blanchard’s jazz-based score, is enough to pull one in. The film has all it needs to set it apart from previous iterations and establish a specific setting and community. In the end, however, it is the script that fails to live up to its potential. Father of the Bride showed promise, the talent is abundant on screen and behind the camera, but a flimsy screenplay fails them all. Beyond that, though, the story lacks creativity.