Painful...and a bit over the top. With some polish, this could have been a lot better...

MartinHafer

"No eres tú, soy yo" is a very frustrating film to watch. In many ways, it's very likable film--it has a great sense of humor, some wonderful characters and it's sweet. But, there are also some negatives--some very negative negatives. And, because of this, it's a tough film for me to recommend--or to at least recommend without some reservations.

The film begins with a couple living together and planning on moving from Mexico City to Miami. The man, Javier, decides that before they go, they should marry--which they do. The plan, then, is for her to go and him to sell their place and come to meet her. However, almost immediately after she arrives, his beloved wife calls to tell him the marriage is over--she's found another man!

Now you'd THINK that Javier would hate his wife and be enraged. After all, they just married this is how she treats him! But, instead, he spends every minute doubting himself and insisting that he wants her back. And, sadly, this isn't just a phase, as it lasts for MONTHS. During this time, Javier is simply pathetic--annoying and alienating everyone around him. And, to put it bluntly, behaving like a jerk. I wanted to grab him and tell him to 'man up'--and so did my wife and oldest daughter as we watched. And here is a MAJOR problem with the film. We went from liking Javier and feeling sorry for him to hating him and wishing someone would rap him in the mouth! And so the film failed because they made the character too annoying and you lost every bit of respect and sympathy for him. One of the characters told him "Even the Devil would kick you out of Hell" because he was that annoying--and that's TOO annoying!

Later in the film, it finally gets better. After six months, he begins to date a lovely young lady--a lady who is frankly too good for him. But then a problem occurs. The three of us watching it ALL predicted what would happen next--what 'monkey wrench' would be thrown into the film to create an artificial impediment to his falling in love with and settling down with the sweet new lady. This formulaic aspect was problem #2 with the film.

Now if you can look past these two serious issues, the film is amazingly clever--with some funny and sweet moments. In many ways, it's reminiscent of the old Steve Martin film "The Lonely Guy"--but this Martin film is a heck of a lot better. Worth seeing if you don't mind the serious issues.

score 6/10

MartinHafer 31 August 2011

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2482288/