Instructions Not Included

Name: Instructions Not Included
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: August 30, 2013
Duration: 122 min
Rating: 55
Cast: Agust, Alessandra Rosaldo, Arcelia Ramírez, Daniel Raymont, Eugenio Derbez

2013

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 89 Ratings

See All

7.8

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7.8	Your Score
7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 89 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Movie Details & Credits

Pantelion Films | Release Date: August 30, 2013 | PG-13

Starring: Agust, Alessandra Rosaldo, Arcelia Ramírez, Daniel Raymont, Eugenio Derbez, Hugo Stiglitz, Jessica Lindsey, Karla Souza, Loreto Peralta, Sammy P

Summary: Valentin is Acapulcoâ

Director: Eugenio Derbez

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 122 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Bill Goodykoontz

Aug 29, 2013

Some of the comic bits are a little too broad and silly, but Derbez, in his feature debut, makes Instructions Not Included a balancing act more successful than it should be. Read full review

Annlee Ellingson

Sep 4, 2013

There's a lot of movie here with unexpected developments, held together by the irresistible chemistry between Derbez and his adorable pint-sized co-star. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Sep 6, 2013

The film’s counterintuitive success is largely due to Derbez, who demonstrates why he is beloved, both south and north of the border. Read full review

McClatchy-Tribune News Service Roger Moore

Sep 11, 2013

The ending of the movie is a real grabber, the sort of thing that lifts and improves a tediously long and otherwise mediocre film and tricks you into thinking it was better than it really was as you leave the theater. Read full review

Joe Leydon

Sep 5, 2013

Instructions Not Included is a sporadically amusing but unduly protracted dramedy that slowly — very slowly — devolves into a shameless tearjerker during its third act. Read full review

SEE ALL 5 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

webswever

Sep 1, 2013

This movie has the emotional intensity of BELLA, the humor of JUNO, and the social ramifications of KRAMER vs KRAMER. (I know I have watched a good movie when a year later, I scan the video store shelf and I can remember the plot of the movie. Trust me,you will remember everything from thisThis movie has the emotional intensity of BELLA, the humor of JUNO, and the social ramifications of KRAMER vs KRAMER. (I know I have watched a good movie when a year later, I scan the video store shelf and I can remember the plot of the movie. Trust me,you will remember everything from this film.) Loved the line sincerely expressed by a friend to the new Mexican father, "You better learn English so you can understand your American baby when she starts speaking." Don't let the subtitles keep you away.… Expand

5 of 5 users found this helpful50

purepecha11

Sep 28, 2013

Congratulations Mr. Eugenio Dervez. “Instructions Not Included’ turned out to be a good job. The Oscar for Best Foreign Film will be a good prize.

Widely recommend it because the person can go to the movies, spending time enjoying the comedy. Good job!

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

eli_de101

Mar 8, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. . “Instructions not included” has become one of my favorite movies by just watching it once. It’s a great family movie about a Mexican single father raising his American daughter that was abandon by her mother in Mexico. The movie will make you laugh hysterically, cry, and think. Watching this movie with my family was a really nice because everyone enjoyed the movie just as much as I did.
The movie starts out in Acapulco Mexico where a young single bachelor is surprised at the door by one of his American flings. She showed up at the door with a baby girl in her arms saying that it was their love child. While he was trying to take it all in she asked for money to go pay the taxi and never came back. He tried to go look for her and saw her board a plane to the U.S. So then he went and hitch hiked all the way to L.A with the baby to go find her mom. He went to look for her at a hotel where babies weren’t allowed and he left the baby down stairs. He went looking in a suit where a movie director was having auditions for a stunt man. When he barged in the room he saw the baby about to fall in the pool and jumped from the balcony to save her. The director offered him a job and told him he would get the baby taken away if he tried to take her back to Mexico. So he decided to take the job as a stunt man and start a new life for himself and his daughter.
He was an excellent dad he gave his daughter everything she wanted. He struggled being a single dad but he made it all work out in his own creative ways. The two were like two peas in a pod nothing could keep them apart. The dad had doctor appointments and was always nervous to go to and so his daughter would always go with him. She would even take shots with her dad so he wouldn’t be scared. He seemed to be very worried since the doctor told him that the treatment they had tried hadn’t worked. Soon after that the long lost mother came around asking to see her daughter. When she came to see her she couldn’t get enough of the daughter she had once abandon. She then took the dad to court to fight for full custody so she could take her with her to New York. The dad won the full custody and the mom couldn’t believe it. She then asked to get a DNA test to check her daughter’s paternity and it showed that he wasn’t her real dad. The daughter and dad then walked all the way back to Acapulco where their journey first started. When the mom went to go look for them the dad’s boss told him that she had to find out what was really going on and she had to go look for them in Acapulco. She got there and found them playing in the beach. They were a happy family for about two weeks. One day on the beach when they were looking at the sunset the little girl fell asleep and never woke up. She had a rare disease that made her fall asleep almost instantly and one day she wouldn’t wake up from it. On her last days she was the happiest and had all she wanted and that was being by her parent’s side happily ever after.
This movie really touched me just because you never know what can happen. After all the things the dad did for his little girl he was about to lose her in a blink of an eye. Nothing could stop him from being by his daughter and so he just walked away with her and was ready to start all over in another country. The love of a father is so big and sometimes it can be unappreciated as you grow up and that really made me think about my dad. A father’s love can never be out grown or replaced. This movie has me that things can happen unexpectedly and you have to figure out how to overcome it on your own. It will have you laughing from the beginning and through the entire move and in a second it will have your eyes watery. The title “Instructions not included” tells you that in life things can be thrown at you at any time and you have to figure out a solution on your own. The chemistry between the father and his daughter is so powerful and seems so real. It’s an excellent family movie with a great message. The overall story and how the plot all falls together just made it impossible to not watch. I recommend this movie to everyone and especially for a family night.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RUSOFAPGAR2001

Oct 1, 2013

Great movie, very few movies make me cry an laugh at the same time, if you consider the $5 million budget, this movie is great hit, its a "must see" movie, in any language, in any country, you will get the message, Highly recomended.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Apexmm

Feb 23, 2015

This movie honestly took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it to be so good, given that I don't really enjoy or understand Mexican "humor" (and yes, I am Mexican-American). It started off a little wacky as I expected from having Eugenio Derbez as an actor/director. Also, the first 30This movie honestly took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it to be so good, given that I don't really enjoy or understand Mexican "humor" (and yes, I am Mexican-American). It started off a little wacky as I expected from having Eugenio Derbez as an actor/director. Also, the first 30 minutes or so felt a little bland and slow in the story and made me think it wasn't going to be anything special. However, it managed to pick up quite a lot, and kept doing so until the very end. I liked it so much I told my family to watch it, and they really liked it as well. All in all, this is a great movie to watch, only thing I think might hinder the full "feel" for it might be in someone that doesn't understand Spanish.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

AGarcia732

Oct 4, 2014

This movie surpassed all expectations I had and was a great surprise. Even with the linguistic barriers involved, it was still enjoyable. If some things in the movie (such as becoming a man by jumping off a cliff) sound unrealistic or stupid, people really do things like that in otherThis movie surpassed all expectations I had and was a great surprise. Even with the linguistic barriers involved, it was still enjoyable. If some things in the movie (such as becoming a man by jumping off a cliff) sound unrealistic or stupid, people really do things like that in other cultures. I especially like this movie because in the US, there aren’t many films aimed toward minorities.

The story starts funny but becomes more "deep" as the film progresses. The unexpected shocks and twists near the end are heartbreaking, and only make the ending sadder. One thing I think is weird is the transition between comedy to family drama. It's a bit awkward and could’ve been done better, but this doesn’t ruin the film. We've heard this story before, but this movie seems to tell it in a different, original way. Don't let the subtitles keep you away! Eugenio Derbez is great and his daughter is sweet and funny; they have great chemistry. Overall, this is just a fun movie and I recommend that Hispanics families watch it!

(Keep in mind that knowing Spanish or understanding Hispanic culture wouldn't when watching the movie.)

Score: 8.8

If you liked this review, please read my other ones on movies, TV shows, and videogames. I have reviewed 30 movies, including the 2014 films: The Maze Runner, The Expendables 3, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Guardians of the Galaxy, Sharknado 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Edge of Tomorrow, X-Men Days of Future Past, Godzilla, Blended, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Divergent, Transcendence, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, Blended, The Lego Movie, and more. I also review TV shows, such as: TNT’s The Last Ship, Fox's Sleepy Hollow, ABC's Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, CW's The 100, Fox's I Wanna Marry Harry, NBC's Crisis, Fox's Gang Related, and more. I also have reviewed the mobile game Minecraft-Pocket Edition.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

KoHo

Sep 16, 2013

Yes, the Latino-American audience is neglected and starved for films of any kind. Consequently, this one's doing rather well but it doesn't deserve it and it serves more as a 90-minute insult to anyone who needs just a bit of plausibility for something to be entertaining. This film has a fewYes, the Latino-American audience is neglected and starved for films of any kind. Consequently, this one's doing rather well but it doesn't deserve it and it serves more as a 90-minute insult to anyone who needs just a bit of plausibility for something to be entertaining. This film has a few quick comedic moments and an amazing performance by its 7-year-old star. But it is so fraught with improbable plot contrivances, shameless melodrama and just bad writing, anyone still tempted to see it would be well-advised to check their brains in at the box office. I also found it downright insulting to immigrants from everywhere that the main character, after 7 years of living in Los Angeles and making a very good living as a fearless stuntman, cannot even make the slightest attempt at speaking English where it would be necessary, while every gringo he gets to know inexplicably speaks perfect Spanish. The sad part is, so much of what's wrong with this movie could have been fixed if just one bright Mexican-American film student had been given two days to knock out a liberal re-write.… Expand

1 of 17 users found this helpful116

SEE ALL 25 REVIEWS