Released May 1, “The Biggest Fan,” directed by Maria Torres, is a comedic film that is not suited for all audiences. The film follows a Hollywood actress, Lana (Kate del Castillo), who gets caught up in a scandal that causes her career and reputation to plummet. In hopes of earning back her fame and her respect in the industry, Lana journeys back home to Mexico. While in Mexico, Lana runs into one of her most devoted fans, Poly (Diana Bovio), who dedicates much of her time to helping her favorite celebrity rise back to stardom.
Although the film takes on a comedic approach, the cinematography was notably well done and enticing to watch. The change in shot composition, along with the parallel of shooting a movie inside a movie, helped break up the film. At times, the parallel allowed for a sensation where I was watching two separate films at the same time, which was very cool. The movie was originally shot in Spanish, so the English voice-over was a little choppy and off at times. Even though the voice over was rough, it didn’t ever impact the overall quality of the movie too much. If you’re someone who doesn’t like voiceover movies, that is definitely something to note. The film at times utilizes mature language, which is why it is not well-suited for everyone. At times, the jokes that were made in the film or certain actions didn’t seem like they generated the response that they should have and that made some parts of the movie seem embarrassing or hard to watch.
This is a movie where it can be hard to follow along or catch on to what’s going on after missing a little part because the overall plot of the film was all over. Most of the time, I like to watch simple movies while eating or just working on schoolwork. This movie is not one that I would choose to willingly watch for fun because it was very hectic. At some points, I was just confused with everything going on and all the different changes throughout the film. Between the movie they were shooting inside of the actual movie and all of the characters, it was hard to follow along. The film was fast paced at times, which can be a nice trait of a movie, but that honestly made this film feel rushed. A lot of the characters lacked a lot of complexity and depth to their roles, which resulted in an inability to have a chance to connect with characters.
That leads me to the costume aspect of this movie. This movie actually had a surprisingly wide array of costumes and clothing that each character wore. Although there were frequent wardrobe and aesthetic changes, I enjoyed seeing all of the different costumes because some were different and unique from the movies that I usually watch. A great example is many of the costumes they had for the movie they were filming, the costumes generated a fun atmosphere when they were present and were visually appealing. The costumes automatically drew my eyes to them, which made my viewing experience quite enjoyable when I was able to see all the different outfits they had put together. There was a fun and eye-catching type of style to the costume and each outfit every character wore was clearly thought out to perfectly suit the character and helped to portray them.
The soundtrack didn’t really elicit any strong emotions from me. In all honesty, the soundtrack was hardly anything noteworthy or memorable from any possible angle—I struggle to remember one song that I heard throughout the film. The music was ultimately very lacking,unexciting and never had a direct impact on any of the scenes.
On another note, the casting was very well done and each actor was very fitting for their roles. One actor, Diana Bovio, particularly stuck out to me because I had recognized her from a previous series. I’d say Poly was one of the best characters to follow throughout the film because of the very talented actress who plays that role. At times, her character was very frustrating, but that is only a sign of Bovio’s talent as a great actress. It was fun seeing her in this role because I usually see her in roles like this. However, she seemed a lot more free and open during this film. Diana Bovio usually plays characters with big and bright personalities and it really seems like she was made to play the character of Poly.
Even though some aspects of this film are very well done and intriguing, there are also a lot of aspects that make it unenjoyable. There are definitely better comedy movies out there, especially if you’re actually looking to laugh and fully appreciate the film you’re watching. My reactions and emotions throughout the film were very minimal and it felt like something was missing while I was watching. If you’re just looking for anything to take up some of your free time, I’d say this is the perfect film for you.
“The Biggest Fan:” ★★☆☆☆
