My Mom’s New Boyfriend (2008)

Directed by: George Gallo | 95 minutes | comedy | Actors: Meg Ryan, Antonio Banderas, Colin Hanks, Selma Blair, Trevor Morgan, John Valdetero, Eli Danker, Tom Adams, Keith David, Enrico Colantoni, Marco St. John, Aki Avni, Mark Meade, Tarri Markell, Jeff Fried

The concept that a son is confronted by his mother’s new boyfriend and can’t stand him is almost always hilarious. ‘My Mom’s New Boyfriend’ mainly relies on this fact. One day Henry leaves the family home and Marty – fat and deeply unhappy – waits at the airport for her son to leave. After a passerby tosses a quarter into her paper cup, Marty decides to drastically change her life. When Henry returns from his FBI fieldwork three years later, he barely recognizes his mother. Henry is now all too eager to shield Marty from men. It is difficult for him to bear that his mother enjoys her new ‘me’ by dating a lot. Henry’s fiancé Emily tries to contain his protective stance, but doesn’t quite succeed. The fence is completely blown when Henry accidentally discovers that Marty’s new flame Tommy is in all probability a notorious thief who wants to steal a statue of Berini with two cronies.

Colin Hanks (“King Kong” and television series “Roswell”) plays the overprotective son Henry. The way Hanks plays mothering Henry to his mother is several times over the top. The character’s reactions are so predictable and too stereotypical that outrageous fits of laughter are rare. The times Henry and the very young Eddie (Trevor Morgan) meet, Hanks is nice and you can empathize with the character. Furthermore, Henry’s actions create more resentment and you’re like, “Grow up!” Henry cares too much about his mother because his dad abandoned her.

Fiance Emily (Selma Blair) – also an FBI agent – ​​is fortunate to have a lot of patience and love for Henry, as she calmly keeps telling him that his mother is also mature and knows needs. A normal woman would probably have run away from him long ago. Blair plays a good, easy-going lady. A type that she likes, she plays a woman with these gentle qualities in, for example, ‘Legally Blonde’.

Meg Ryan has been cast as the sweet housewife again. It is a shame that the actress has lost so much strength in her face due to the cosmetic procedures. You see little of the beauty of yesteryear. Still, Ryan plays stronger than movie son Hanks; Marty’s jolly high-spirited demeanor convinces them. And the actress is already off to a good start as a fat person, the misery radiates from her face. The scene where you see Marty in the massage chair reminds you very slightly of that well-known scene in ‘When Harry Met Sally’ due to the screams of pleasure she lets out. How Henry reacts to this – with much embarrassment – ​​also reinforces this idea. Chemistry between Meg Ryan and opponent Antonio Banderas is present. How the two meet is entertaining. Original, you just have to come up with it. The date to a Lebanese restaurant where Marty, Henry and Emily are taken by Tommy is even more comical. It turns out to be anything but everyday. In addition, Banderas manages to bring out the sarcasm funny through his intonation when he receives an inconvenient phone call during the date. And Hanks has another – a rare – humorous moment when you see his facial expression as he stands in the hallway by the toilet and all kinds of shady characters walk past. Tommy’s character is fairly simple and Banderas was probably able to play it on autopilot through his experience as the interpreter of bad guys and characters with double lives. Because there are few new elements in this role; the exuberant Latino accent is once again present, Tommy does not shy away from danger and Banderas can again show a kind of macho. Although Banderas can show little depth with this character, he manages to get most of the laughs on his hand. Right from the start where you meet Tommy during a break-in in the Louvre, Banderas draws the humor to him through the -mentioned – sarcastic undertone in his voice with which he pronounces the funny dialogues and with his typical mischievous pair of eyes.

A supporting role that should be mentioned is that of actor Enrico Colantoni. It’s verging on too bland, but Marty’s Italian chef and ex-lover sticks around. It’s also impossible to overlook him, he likes to come up at night again on the doorstep of Marty’s house to show his love for her… How? You have to see that for yourself.

Fans of Banderas will appreciate ‘My Mom’s New Boyfriend’, as will actress Ryan’s supporters. Those who loved Colin Hanks in the ‘Roswell’ series should avoid Henry’s cringe-inducing character. “My Mom’s New Boyfriend” isn’t a gem in which Hanks shines. That honor is reserved for seasoned actors Meg Ryan and Antonio Banderas. Thanks to them, ‘My Mom’s New Boyfriend’ has turned out to be a pleasant film, despite the somewhat dull and predictable plot.