Eugenio Derbez stars alongside an endearing ensemble of players in a (mostly) family-friendly series, now streaming on Apple TV+.
Shamelessly sentimental, the series never hesitates to go for easy laughs. Or to jerk tears, if you’re so inclined.
Acapulco
The first two episodes of Season 3 premiere globally Wednesday, May 1, on Apple TV+. I’ve seen all 10 episodes. The first two seasons are also available to watch in their entirety.
Since I was raised in an Irish-Mexican household, I may be more susceptible to the friendly, if corny, cultural humor that abounds in Acapulco. And as someone approaching my twilight years, I am definitely more susceptible to the effusive sentimentality that attends the show’s nostalgic perspective.
No matter. I laughed, early and often, when I watched Season 1. To a great extent, that was because the series is not entirely about Eugenio Derbez, a comic actor whose mere presence can be divisive. And the same holds true with Season 3.
As things worked out, I missed Season 2 entirely, but the Season 3 trailer, embedded below, swiftly covers all that any potential viewer needs to know. To quote myself:
“Created by Austin Winsberg, Eduardo Cisneros, and Jason Shuman, the show trades on broad stereotypes and narrative twists that are easy to see coming. What makes it all go down easy, though, is that the show is also filled with likable characters who share the common desire to better their own lives, yes, but mostly will do anything to better the lives of their families and win their favor. I can relate to that.”
Again, that holds true with Season 3. Derbez plays Maximo, a billionaire businessman in the present day who narrates flashbacks to his youth in 1985, when he first began working at the famed Las Colinas resort in the titular city. He tells his flashbacks as stories to his visiting nephew, Hugo (Raphael Alejandro). The cast remains intact, featuring:
“Young Maximo (Enrique Arrizon), his cheerful best friend Memo (Fernando Carsa), determined aspiring fashion designer Julia (Camila Perez), her clueless American boyfriend Chad (Chord Overstreet), and Don Pablo (Damian Alcazar), the stern head of resort operations, who quickly becomes Young Maximo’s mentor.
“Maximo’s family is also woven into the narrative threads deeply: Maximo’s witty sister Sara (Regina Reynoso), who is guarding a personal secret, and his strong, confident mother (Vanessa Bauche).”
Since then, Maximo’s mother married an affable fellow, Esteban (Carlos Corona); handsome pool boy Hugo (Rafael Cebrian) shows more sides to his character; Memo finds a girlfriend in the helpful Lupe (Regina Orozco); the resort’s current CEO, Diane (Jessica Collins), gets in touch with her romantic side; and a previously silent co-owner (Jaime Camil) becomes more important to the narrative. The series ably switches from the past to the present, and the casting agents did a fantastic job in matching older and younger actors with similar physical characteristics, so it’s not too terribly difficult to see and understand which character is which when the storyline switches from 1985 to the present.
Having watched 20 (out of 30) episodes, my conclusion remains the same:
“Often silly, occasionally hamfisted, and frequently melodramatic, I kept coming back for the characters, who work hard and can only hope that, one day, their family’s dreams will come true. Maybe, just maybe, one of their dreams will come true too.”
Dallas Film Now. 