I can’t help but feel a little bit like a broken record any time I review a new romantic comedy. I don’t think that’s being lazy or anything; it’s just the nature of the genre. Unless a movie comes along and truly breaks the mold, or is unusually bad, romantic comedies tend to share several major similarities.
And it makes sense. It makes sense because the rom-com framework works. It’s simple, light, charming, fun. Even with most of these movies being utterly predictable, a well done rom-com is all of those things. I’ve said it before: it’s a comfort genre. Sometimes you just want to watch something and know that things are going to work out in the end, one way or another.
And The Valet fits right into that mold. Nothing it does is going to surprise you, but if you’re generally a rom-com fan, you’ll enjoy yourself plenty. The new Hulu movie – a remake of the 2006 French film of the same name – stars Samara Weaving, Eugenio Derbez, and Max Greenfield. Weaving plays movie star Olivia Allan, who is having an affair with married real estate developer Vincent Royce (Greenfield). One night they get into a fight after Olivia leaves one of their rendezvous, and the two are photographed by the paparazzi, threatening the success of Olivia’s upcoming movie release and Vincent’s marriage.
Also caught in the picture is mild-mannered valet Antonio (Derbez). Olivia and Vincent concoct a plan to have Antonio pose as Olivia’s boyfriend to quash the affair rumors. Antonio is a simple guy, parking cars for the rich and famous, but far removed from their lifestyle. Becoming involved with Olivia, even in a fake, manufactured setup, presents a classic fish out of water story; two people who otherwise wouldn’t have gotten together in any sense of the word on any normal day.
Knowing the basic bones of the movie, I look to the characters more than I usually might. Yes, characters are always important. But when there’s not an original or intricate story, the characters have to do more of the heavy lifting. And I love the characters here. Antonio is a family man. He wants to provide a good life and be a good example for his son. He still pines for his ex-wife. Even when billionaire Vincent offers him a blank check for taking on this “project,” he only asks for the amount to pay off the rest of her student loans.
Olivia may present as a stereotypical stuck up movie star, but the story squeezes a surprising amount of emotional depth out of her character. She was much more developed than I was expecting. I was thrilled to see someone of Weaving’s talent not go to waste in another plain, surface level romantic comedy.
Max Greenfield plays a perfect douchebag (also see his work in Promising Young Woman). Vincent is like if his Schmidt character from New Girl was a legitimately bad person, and turned up to 11. I love this decision. You might expect the the movie to make his character just likable enough that you’re not sure if you should be rooting for him or Antonio. But nope, he sucks. It’s #TeamAntonio from minute 1.
Weaving and Derbez’s committed performances really make you believe in what their respective characters are going through. You know they’re each going to learn something from each other before it’s all said and done, but these two do everything they can to get you fully on board with the journey. They’re both effortlessly charming and are joys to watch. And the supporting cast goes a long way in that too.
Antonio’s mother lives with him, his brother-in-law Benny (Amaury Nolasco) is his boss at the restaurant valet, and he always has friends and family inserting themselves into his life, whether he wants them to or not. This is maybe the best thing The Valet does to try to set itself apart from other romantic comedies.
It takes Antonio’s Latin heritage and makes it a major part of his character. The closeness of the extended family, the shared meals, the never-ending but sometimes overbearing love they all have for each other. There aren’t too many other movies in the genre that focus so much on a character’s heritage (Crazy Rich Asians is an obvious recent example). The Valet maybe could have done more in this regard, but given the relatively overall small scope of the rest of the movie, I think it mostly struck a good balance.
The comedy part of the romantic comedy could have used some work too. It’s pretty consistently funny, but there are no true laugh out loud or signature moments. With actors like Greenfield and Weaving (INCREDIBLE in Ready or Not) and the huge difference between the lives of Olivia and Antonio, there were opportunities for at least one or two – and probably more – big comedic moments.
Even still, at the end of the day, The Valet is a romantic comedy. If you know the genre, you know what the means. It does the job, though it didn’t take full advantage of a good setup and great cast. But if all you need is a sweet, charming, fun story, then it should be just the ticket.
The Valet premieres on Hulu on May 20th.
Score: 75/100
