| Don’t Blame Karma! Is a silly Mexican rom-com. The basic premise includes Sara believing that her younger sister Lucy has put a curse on her so she has nothing but bad luck. And she really does believe this. The plot follows a more typical romantic comedy storyline, occasionally funny, occasionally romantic and if you ignore how stupid Sara is it’s enjoyable. | | 2022
Directed by: Elisa Miller
Screenplay by: Fernanda Eguiarte, Marcelo Tobar, and Laura Norton
Starring: Aislinn Derbez, Renata Notni, and
Gil Cerezo
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Lucy, the younger sister, is prettier, more popular, more charismatic and has gone on to become a model and Instagram influencer. Just as she was always meant to be. Sara is the less pretty sister, the one who stayed at home and runs a t-shirt business out of grandma’s house. And now Lucy has just arrived home announcing her engagement to Aaron. Aaron who just happened to be Lucy’s best friend and crush in high school and then he went off to become a famous singer, and now he’s marrying her younger sister.
There’s a Father of the Bride theme throughout the movie – with one sister happy and successful, the pride of the parents and coming back home to get married, the other sister struggling to become a clothes designer, and the parents announcing their separation at the same time as Lucy’s engagement. That subplot with the parents is pretty awful and not funny, but the rest of the main cast handle their own storylines perfectly.
Aislinn Derbez as Sara, Renata Notni as Sara and Gil Cerezo as Aaron all have solid comedic performances. Sara and Aaron have really great chemistry. There’s another subplot with Sara and a boyfriend named Roberto which doesn’t sparkle nearly as much as the main trio, but luckily he is just a minor diversion. Overall the plot is predictable as the story has been done many times before, but it’s also an enjoyable and comfortable watch. Romantic comedies are generally predictable, but the leads are cute and funny and have great chemistry. It’s a good thing that it works out the way we want it to.
Don’t Blame Karma! is a really nice production. The setting (a Mexican town on the ocean) is beautiful, the songs (courtesy of Gil Cerezo as Aaron) are fun and enjoyable, and the fashion design is on point. I love all of Lucy’s outfits and as Sara transitions out of her “ugly duckling” type character her outfits are just as great.
It can be hard to get into since it is just a typical rom-com and the Sara being ugly premise is annoying since all it takes is for her to brush her hair and then magically she’s pretty. The high production values help get over those barriers and by the end it’s a cute little rom-com.
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