Two Puerto Rican NYPD detectives head to Paris to track down a stolen handbag.

Plot Synopsis:
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planktonrules from Bradenton, Florida
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Puerto Ricans in Paris surprised me when I saw it at the Gasparilla International Film Festival. This is because Rosie Perez was on hand to discuss the movie...which was great. However, she was not a major character in the film! I loved seeing this youthful actress but I would have preferred seeing Edgar Garcia, as he was my favorite actor in this cute little film.

When the movie begins, Luis (Luis Guzman) and Eddie (Edgar Garcia) are both very successful undercover cops in New York who investigate cases involving counterfeit designer products. Because of this, the pair of Puerto Rican cops are asked by folks to come to France to help them investigate a case where some designer bags have been stolen before they are released to the public. In other words, unless the company pays ransom, the market will soon be flooded by knockoff purses. While it's not exactly believable that the French folks would ask these two to investigate instead of just having French police or private security films look into the matter, it doesn't really matter...this is just a nice fish out of water buddy picture.

Once in Paris, Luis is completely out of place. He's brash, a bit obnoxious and fancies himself a ladies' man. Unfortunately, he's a complete failure in the city of lights...and soon he's a bit jealous of Eddie. After all, although Eddie is happily married, there is a gorgeous model who adores him....so why can't Luis the bachelor get any of the ladies to look at him?! Perhaps it is because Eddie is just an incredibly sweet guy...the sort of character who loves his wife, loves his kids and is rarely seen in films. He's strong and likable...and his character certainly was a huge plus for the film. However, it's not all Garcia...the writing and directing are also rather nice. Plus, over time Guzman's character grows...and grows on you.

Will this film change your life? Certainly not. But while it's slight, it's also a film that is hard not to enjoy. A nice date film or a movie worth seeing if you want to see something a bit different. Plus, I can't help but admire a picture this enjoyable considering that it was shot in only 17 days...something that just seems impossible!

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subxerogravity from United States
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It's not the worse movie I ever saw, but had the potential to be so much better.

You see the title of the movie and the first thing you think is that this is a fish out of water comedy. Knowing who Guzman is I was expecting The New York raised Latino to have a culture clash in Paris' hi style scene, but the movie really does nothing with that idea.

He plays a cop who gets hired by a Fashion company based in France to track down a fancy hang bag prototype that was stolen and is being held for ransom.

Guzman with Edgar Garcia play partners and brother-in-laws in a buddy cop style that is obvious, but not done well. It was a badly done cop movie as the cops really did no cop work. The little that they did was really little for the movie as a whole.

What the movie does do is point out why we love Luis Guzman as a supporting character in pictures. Guzman being the lead character in this movie doesn't seem to be interesting, yet it works and makes the film watchable, but not great. It's in comparison with another Latino supporting character actor, Danny Trejo when he did Machete, it's everything you like about him as a supporting actor.

And shout out to Edgar Garcia who was a good fit for Guzman in the buddy cop relationship but the movie should have gave them more to do if that's the genre they are trying to achieve.

So overall, the movie makes little sense, but it will be fun and enjoyable if you like Guzman.

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Bryan Kluger from Dallas, TX
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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!

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Brustersampson from United States
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Cliché yet fun. Luis Guzman is as charming as usual and the rest of the supporting cast is very good. The Female actors were the best and most entertaining of the film with their fun, charismatic choices which really fleshed out their characters. They really made the film entertaining. Edgar Garcia seemed to be the only one that missed the performance boat. I suppose rising seas can't lift all boats, because that dingy sank. There were a few redeeming moments for his acting but sadly the most believable moment he had on screen was when he was riding the bike. Someone give him a task while he is saying lines for god's sake. I'm almost upset with the director for letting that slide but you have to keep the machine running I suppose. I'm not trying to bash him into never acting again, I want him to do well but he's got to put in the work to deserve better criticism.

I think the film was shot fine but I would like to see some slight changes on some of the moments. The writing was OK, but some glaring plot holes as in why they had to go to Paris and the connection with the snake was pretty bad.It was as if the the guy funding it had an idea and then everyone else smiled and said,"Yeah, that sounds great" and nobody had the guts to say, "No, that's awful please don't take away the funding." I feel as if they had the money to shoot it suddenly and they had to rush the script into the production and had to rewrite as they went. Even Luis Guzman said they had the money before they had movie in an interview.

Ian Edelman feature directorial debut had its flaws but everyone's first does.I remember my first time.... directing a short and it wasn't pretty(Neither was the other thing). It was like most teenagers, goofy and uncoordinated so I can only imagine a feature. I would like to see the lead characters a little more three dimensional and interesting because it almost seemed like all the good lines and characters when to the costars and occasionally Luis Guzman. I have to say though for your first its a great stepping stone and well done. I'm looking forward to the next film to make the leap!

Overall it's worth the five bucks on Amazon Prime to watch Luis and the Female co-stars putter around Paris for the couple of mishaps and jokes.

Last note - I think Rosario and Rosie would have made a much better duo for the film and made Luis and Edgar be the one's that had to stay at home. I can just picture Edgar with his sulking performance trying to be the house wife and complain to Luis that his wife doesn't treat him well while she's in Paris. Plus it would have been fun to see the role reversal which would been fun on so many levels to really push social norms envelope.

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ParsingHaus from United States
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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).

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AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
USA:R (certificate #50140)