Famous movie star Olivia (Samara Weaving) finds herself in a PR disaster when photos of her and her married boyfriend Vincent (Max Greenfield) hit every news outlet in the city. Needing to do damage control before her upcoming premiere, they enlist the help of humble, hardworking valet Antonio (Eugenio Derbez) to pretend to be Olivia’s new boyfriend.

Based on the 2006 French movie La Doublure, The Valet took me by surprise. While it was yet another story featuring a mismatched couple, it struck me in ways that I was not expecting it to and I only wish more people knew about it.

The chemistry between our two leads Eugenio Derbez and Samara Weaving shouldn’t seem like it would work, but it totally does. I have never seen the former in anything before and found his Antonio charming and funny. Samara Weaving has slowly been working her way up my favorites list having starred in TV shows Hollywood and Nine Perfect Strangers. Her comedic role here was something I never knew I needed.

It was fun to see Max Greenfield portray such a slimy character – something very different than the roles we are used to seeing him in. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much of a douchebag his character Vincent was. Betsy Brandt who stars as Vincent’s wife Kathryn was certainly no pushover which was refreshing to see. I loved that she wanted to take him down.

I must give a special shoutout to the latino representation that was depicted throughout the movie. Getting to know Antonio’s colleagues, friends and family was such a joy. I really felt the authenticity in those relationships and I loved the incorporation of Spanish whenever these scenes were happening.

What I liked the most about The Valet was while I thought I knew where it was going, I ended up being very wrong (in the best possible way). There were some twists thrown in that hit me like a ton of bricks and made me feel all the emotions. It’s an off beat romantic comedy that teaches you the importance of family and being true to yourself. If this was your first time hearing about it, I highly recommend adding it to your weekend viewing. You won’t be sorry.

Rating: ♥♥♥