IslandGuru
Who payed the critics
GurlyIamBeach
Instant Favorite.
Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
jenom-447-319279
A same person writes/directs/produces a movie ....nothing good can come out of that. The "story": 2 New York detective looking for a stolen handbag in Paris. How much more lame can it get? Well, just have 2 short,fat & ugly man mingle with tall & good looking women in tight dresses in Paris. Often this movie looks like a tourist commercial video (bicycling on empty streets) or a women fashion show (everybody wears tight evening dresses all the time) Could not stand this "masterpiece" for more than 20 minutes, try it and see how long you will last ?
Reno Rangan
This is not a film that everybody was looking forward. This something an unexpected film from the new crew, but the actors were somewhat known to us. They are mostly supporting cast from the mainstream films, but they played the main characters in this little film. A simple cop film that tells the story of two NYPD detectives who were hired to solve a case of stolen handbag in the Paris. So they pack their bags and land in the city of love. It's like a vacation for them, but they aware of their assignment and they begin working on their own way to find the thief. The rest is the small adventures filled with the decent comedies.The film was short and there were no mega stunt sequences. Not because it was a small budget film, but it was aimed to keep everything simple. More like in the real society, but improvised it by adding some comedies. I don't know Luis Guzman ever did a lead role, but this is first of his for me and I enjoyed his part along with his partner. The praise must go to the effort, not for the overall film. Because I knew it won't be another 'Bad Boys', so I braced myself to watch it and then I found it better. It is a lot better than many craps from the recent time, so it is worth watching at once, but don't force yourself.6/10
Bryan Kluger
I'm not so sure on the 'Puerto Ricans in Paris' title, other than to possibly make way for a string of franchise films with similar names with his comedic duo, but Ian Edelman's first directorial effort is a funny buddy cop film that leaves the big action beats on the back-burner and instead, relies on the comedic genius and calm demeanor of its stars. Edelman created the HBO show 'How to Make it in America' and brings along two of its stars in Luis Guzman and Edgar Garcia, who play Eddie and Luis respectively, two New York police undercover police officers who take down people and businesses making counterfeit handbags, clothing, and sunglasses. You know, most of you have been to New York and have paid less than $100 for a seemingly "REAL" Louis Vuitton handbag. Eddie and Luis are the guys that stop these people from making the counterfeits and passing them off as real.This duo's funny, but unusual style has brought in a french businessman and his famous designer Colette (Alice Taglioni) to ask Eddie and Luis to travel to Paris and go undercover to catch the thieves that stole her upcoming new handbag for next season. The thieves sent a ransom note that if they don't get paid by a certain time, they will make thousands of fake handbags, thus destroying the new line of upcoming high end purses. Eddie leaves his four kids and wife (Rosie Perez) at home after a failed anniversary attempt at romance, while Luis can't seem to commit to his beautiful girlfriend (Rosario Dawson).Once in Paris, let the good times role, as Luis tries to score with French women and try to catch the thieves. Again, this isn't an action movie. There are no real car chases, gun shots, or explosions here. Rather than that usual trope, Edelman relies on Guzman to improv a ton of funny lines and dialogue, which we can see in the outtakes during the end credits. Edgar and Luis seem to have a fun time on screen, but Edgar seems a little too soft for the real dramatic moments, and the duo seems a little unbalanced at times. Still, his charming quiet ways are still endearing, while Luis's comedy and brashness garner big laughs in every scene.Taglioni turns in a good performance as well here, crossing between comedy and some more dramatic moments. It's a shame that Dawson and Perez don't have much screen time here, because their characters and scenes were some of the best in the film. I just hope that if a sequel to arise, those two actresses would come along for the journey. Edelman's eye for Paris was beautiful and quaint, giving us the opposite of a tourist view, which was nice to see. 'Puerto Ricans in Paris' is a light-hearted buddy cop comedy with solid performances and enough laughs to warrant a viewing.RECOMMENDED!
ParsingHaus
I would like to stress at the outset that Puerto Ricans in Paris is not a good movie. If you take only one thing from this review, it must be this. I'm going to say some things in the paragraphs that follow -- I may even say I enjoyed it -- but let there be no uncertainty. Movie. Not good. Okay.So here's the rub. There's a certain primal pleasure in watching a film like Puerto Ricans in Paris, an unabashed B-movie buddy comedy that knows what it wants to be, aspires to nothing more, and delivers just about what you'd expect. Granted, it's abysmally weak by ordinary standards, but let's be realistic -- you won't wander into this one expecting Fellini. From those to whom little is given, little is required. Or something.The title pretty much sums up the premise, but here goes: Luis Guzman and Edgar Garcia play two NYPD detectives working the counterfeit luxury goods beat. When a Parisian arrives with a special request -- help a famous designer (Alice Taglioni) find a missing prototype handbag worth millions -- the pair jets off to Paris (macarons, bro?) and vapid screwball comedy ensues.I enjoyed the early promise of the counterfeit luxury goods angle, since I recently read Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster -- and a surprising number of details in this film actually ring true: like a corporate heavy ousting a designer to profit from her name, and the faithful portrayal of Canal Street merchants and their backroom dens. That said, I haven't the faintest idea why this luxury-goods storyline was paired with overt Puerto Rican ethnic humor -- it's as though two separate spec scripts were shuffled together and promptly green-lit. Not that it matters much, since the luxury angle fades into the background right quick.The Parisian storyline is simplistic and frankly not too important, a basic whodunnit in which even the filmmakers regularly lose interest. Guzman and Garcia go through the motions of screening various suspects (often donning ethnic disguises, because easy laughs) and in the meantime chastise one another, have heart-to-hearts about the meaning of family, and so on. Characters come and go; some story lines are left unfinished.The protagonists are simplistic and one-dimensional, but likable nonetheless. Guzman is the ladies' man of the pair, a perpetual bachelor and womanizer -- a role that's frankly hard to take very seriously given that he's not exactly George Clooney yet he's slinging more game than a Spiderman reboot on some very young, very attractive French women. (To be fair, he has limited success -- his shlubby appearance paired with aspirational macking could've been a punchline here, but I don't think it was.) Garcia by contrast is married with kids, and we taste his workaday struggles when his wife (Rosie Perez) laments yet another unobserved anniversary. In Paris, Garcia's loyalties are tested when the beautiful designer takes an interest in him -- but the film stops short of ever causing Garcia a real problem in this regard. (One senses that family and loyalty are particularly sacrosanct here -- we mine Garcia's plight for gentle laughs, but never place him anywhere near risk of actual infidelity.) Secondary characters are double-thick stereotypes. Yes, this is ground-floor, feel-good xenophobic comedy for Trump Nation.This movie struggles to strike the right rhythm with its two-fish-out-of-water premise. And we're never really sure if Guzman and Garcia are bumbling or actually on their game. Director Ian Edelman also does his best to reinforce an American tourist's fantasy of Paris, all gleaming cobblestones and streetlamps and whimsical bicycles and fancy hotels and baguettes and Eiffels and romance. (The less that's said about this, the better.)Production quality isn't great. Much of the film looks like it was shot on an iPhone 6 and with about the same budget. The end credits would have benefited from an undergrad intern, ten minutes, and a free trial of Final Cut Pro. Puerto Ricans in Paris is, however, mercifully short, clocking in at just over 1 hour 20 minutes.But all that said, and perhaps in spite of myself, I still enjoyed this movie. Puerto Ricans in Paris is just wholly unpretentious. This is real, working-man authenticity in film form. I mean, look at the title. That's real honesty. And while I wouldn't send you to see it, I also won't blame you if you do.Like our style? See more reviews at The Parsing Haus (www.parsinghaus.com).
