Instructions Not Included

Movie Details:

Cast & Characters:

• Eugenio Derbez as Valentín Bravo
• Jessica Lindsey as Julie Weston
• Loreto Peralta as Maggie Bravo
• Daniel Raymont as Frank Ryan
• Alessandra Rosaldo as Renée
• Hugo Stiglitz as Johnny Bravo
• Sammy Pérez as Sammy
• Arcelia Ramírez as Judeisy
• Agustín Bernal as Lupe
• Rosa Gloria Chagoyán as Lola
• Karla Souza as Jackie
• Margarita Wynne as Sofía
• Arap Bethke as Valentín’s Lawyer
• Alejandra Bogue as Travesti
• Danny Lopez as Johnny Depp/Aztec man
• Rodrigo Massa as FBI Agent
• Roger Cudney as Julie’s lawyer

Storyline:

Valentin is Acapulco’s resident playboy womanizer, until a former fling, a young American named Julie, leaves a baby on his doorstep and takes off without a trace. Leaving Mexico for Los Angeles to find the baby’s mother, Valentin ends up finding a new home for himself and his newfound daughter, Maggie. An unlikely father figure, Valentin raises Maggie for six years, while also establishing himself as one of Hollywood’s top stuntmen to pay the bills, with Maggie acting as his on-set coach. As Valentin raises Maggie, she forces him to grow up too. But their unique and offbeat family is threatened when Maggie’s birth mom, Julie, shows up out of the blue after six years after turning her own life around and wants full custody of Maggie, and Valentin realizes he’s in danger of losing his daughter – and his best friend.

About Movie:

Eugenio Derbez announced on Twitter that he needed a 100% bilingual child for a new movie, but no boy was right for the role. Loreto Peralta, encouraged by her mother’s friend who saw the post, auditioned despite Derbez originally seeking a boy. He immediately loved her performance, leading to her debut film role.

Derbez later revealed on TV that the project took 12 years from its initial concept to completion due to the intricate details he envisioned and the time required to secure funding.

By the end of 2013, Instructions Not Included earned $46.1 million, becoming the third highest-grossing film of the year in Mexico, behind Despicable Me 2 and Iron Man 3. In January 2014, it was also the highest-grossing Spanish-language film in the United States.

In real life, Eugenio Derbez (Valentín) and Alessandra Rosaldo (Julie’s partner, Renée) are married and have a daughter named Aitana.

In 2016, a French remake of the film titled Two Is a Family (Demain Tout Commence), directed by Hugo Gélin and starring Omar Sy, was released. A Brazilian remake, No Returns Accepted (Não Se Aceitam Devoluções), directed by André Moraes and starring Leandro Hassum, premiered on May 31, 2018.

The Philippine remake, Instant Daddy, directed by Crisanto B. Aquino and featuring Ryza Cenon, Althea Ruedas, and Jerald Napoles, was released on October 11, 2023. A Spanish remake, Sin Instrucciones, is scheduled for release on December 25, 2024.

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Awards: