# How to Be a Latin Lover
*How to Be a Latin Lover* is a 2017 American comedy film directed by [Ken Marino](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-marino) in his feature directorial debut, starring [Eugenio Derbez](https://www.edgepedia.org/eugenio-derbez) as Maximo, a middle-aged gold digger who is dumped by his wealthy 80-year-old wife after 25 years of marriage and must move in with his estranged sister and her young son.[1](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/latin-lover/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_be_a_latin_lover) The film marked Derbez's first starring role in English and the first release of 3Pas Studios, the production company he founded with producer Benjamin Odell.[3](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hollywood-beginning-eugenio-derbez-on-how-to-be-a-latin-lover) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-eugenio-derbez-20170427-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | April 28, 2017 (wide, United States); 115 minutes; PG-13[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4795124/) |
| Director | Ken Marino, his feature directorial debut[1](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/latin-lover/) |
| Writers | Chris Spain and Jon Zack[1](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/latin-lover/) |
| Principal cast | Eugenio Derbez (Maximo), Salma Hayek (Sara), Rob Lowe (Rick), Kristen Bell (Cindy), Raquel Welch (Celeste), Raphael Alejandro (Hugo)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_be_a_latin_lover) |
| Box office | $32,149,404 domestic, $30,397,628 international, $62,547,032 worldwide; $12,252,439 domestic opening[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4795124/) |
| Critical reception | 40% Tomatometer (30 reviews) and 61% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore of 54 from 11 reviews[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_be_a_latin_lover) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4795124/criticreviews/) |
| Languages | About 85% English, with parts in Spanish with English subtitles[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-eugenio-derbez-20170427-story.html) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
Maximo (Derbez) has built a career of seducing rich older women, and as a young man he deliberately married for money. When his octogenarian wife dumps him for a younger car salesman, he loses his mansion and lifestyle and moves in with his sister Sara ([Salma Hayek](https://www.edgepedia.org/salma-hayek)) and her 10-year-old son Hugo (Raphael Alejandro).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_be_a_latin_lover) • [7](https://auth-web.moviesanywhere.com/movie/how-to-be-a-latin-lover-2017) Anxious to return to luxury, Maximo schemes to seduce a widowed billionaire, and he coaches Hugo on how to romance his young crush while learning the value of family.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_be_a_latin_lover) • [8](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/how-to-be-a-latin-lover)
The cast also includes [Rob Lowe](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-lowe) as a younger rival gigolo, along with [Kristen Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristen-bell), Raquel Welch, Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Rob Huebel, Michaela Watkins, Linda Lavin, Mckenna Grace, and [Michael Cera](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-cera) in a cameo as the wife's new man.[9](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/how-to-be-a-latin-lover-2017) • [10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-how-to-be-a-latin-lover-review-20170428-story.html)
## Production
Screenwriters Chris Spain and Jon Zack, who began writing together on a New York public-access sketch comedy show in the 1990s, wrote the film. Their original third act was an R-rated two-hander for the Derbez and Lowe characters, including a dark sex-party sequence; after Derbez joined, they tailored the script to his audience's taste for heart and emotion, added the nephew character, and turned the film into a family-oriented comedy.[1](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/latin-lover/)
Ken Marino, an actor known for *Wet Hot American Summer*, was attracted by the outsized character and assembled a cast largely of comedian friends who improvised heavily on set, particularly the four actors named Rob.[1](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/latin-lover/) • [3](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hollywood-beginning-eugenio-derbez-on-how-to-be-a-latin-lover) • [10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-how-to-be-a-latin-lover-review-20170428-story.html) Marino also insisted that the comedy be rooted in real characters, which is why portions of the dialogue are in Spanish with English subtitles; Derbez explained that he and Hayek speak Spanish when alone and English in front of others, matching their real lives.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-eugenio-derbez-20170427-story.html)
## Derbez's crossover move
For Derbez, a major star in Mexico for his television comedies such as *La familia P. Luche*, the film was his first starring role in English.[3](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hollywood-beginning-eugenio-derbez-on-how-to-be-a-latin-lover) After his 2013 comedy *[Instructions Not Included](https://www.edgepedia.org/instructions-not-included)* became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the US, he closed his office and home in Mexico and moved to Los Angeles to develop English-language projects, beginning work on the *Latin Lover* script after arriving.[11](https://remezcla.com/features/film/eugenio-derbez-interview-latin-lover/) • [3](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hollywood-beginning-eugenio-derbez-on-how-to-be-a-latin-lover) The film was the first title from 3Pas Studios, which held a first-look deal with its distributor Pantelion Films, a Latino-focused studio under Lionsgate and Grupo Televisa.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-eugenio-derbez-20170427-story.html)
Derbez framed his characterization of Maximo as deliberate parody of the Latin lover stereotype, citing figures such as [Julio Iglesias](https://www.edgepedia.org/julio-iglesias) and the Mexican actor Mauricio Garcés as models, and argued that making fun of a stereotype is the best way to break it down.[3](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hollywood-beginning-eugenio-derbez-on-how-to-be-a-latin-lover) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-eugenio-derbez-20170427-story.html)
## Reception and box office
The film opened domestically on April 28, 2017 with $12,252,439 and finished at $32,149,404 in the United States and Canada. Mexico was its largest international market at $24,928,324, and worldwide earnings reached $62,547,032.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4795124/)
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film scored 40% from 30 critics against a 61% audience rating, with a critics consensus asking whether bad representation is better than no representation.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_be_a_latin_lover) Reviewers generally praised the ensemble's warmth while criticizing uneven tone: TheWrap's Claudia Puig wrote that Derbez brings warmth and intermittent goofy humor to a too-broad comedy, Screen's Tim Grierson called it a strained farce that segues into a sappy family film, and RogerEbert.com's Susan Wloszczyna dismissed it as a spoof of an ethnic stereotype past its expiration date.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4795124/criticreviews/) • [12](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/how-to-be-a-latin-lover-review/5116799.article) • [9](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/how-to-be-a-latin-lover-2017) Spanish-language critics were divided as well, with some reviews faulting the film for reinforcing the stereotypes it set out to satirize.[7](https://auth-web.moviesanywhere.com/movie/how-to-be-a-latin-lover-2017)
## References
1. [Chris Spain & Jon Zack reveal How to Be a Latin Lover, Creative Screenwriting (2017)](https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/latin-lover/)
2. [How to Be a Latin Lover, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/how_to_be_a_latin_lover)
3. [Hollywood Beginning: Eugenio Derbez on "How to Be a Latin Lover", RogerEbert.com (2017)](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hollywood-beginning-eugenio-derbez-on-how-to-be-a-latin-lover)
4. [Eugenio Derbez shares 'How to Be a Latin Lover' and still breaks stereotypes, Los Angeles Times (2017)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-eugenio-derbez-20170427-story.html)
5. [How to Be a Latin Lover (2017), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4795124/)
6. [How to Be a Latin Lover (2017) Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4795124/criticreviews/)
7. [How to Be a Latin Lover, Movies Anywhere](https://auth-web.moviesanywhere.com/movie/how-to-be-a-latin-lover-2017)
8. [How to Be a Latin Lover parents' guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/how-to-be-a-latin-lover)
9. [How to Be a Latin Lover movie review, RogerEbert.com (2017)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/how-to-be-a-latin-lover-2017)
10. [Review: Star-studded 'How to Be a Latin Lover' delivers broad laughs in two languages, Los Angeles Times (2017)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-how-to-be-a-latin-lover-review-20170428-story.html)
11. [Eugenio Derbez interview on 'How to Be a Latin Lover' and stereotypes, Remezcla (2017)](https://remezcla.com/features/film/eugenio-derbez-interview-latin-lover/)
12. ['How To Be A Latin Lover': Review, Screen (2017)](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/how-to-be-a-latin-lover-review/5116799.article)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2017 to 2018 › Titles A to J*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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