Some stories remain truly timeless. Father of the Bride is one of those stories. After being published as a novel in 1949 by author Edward Streeter, the book was quickly adapted into a movie the very next year by Vincente Minnelli. It starred Spencer Tracy as the father, an old-fashioned man fretting over his daughter’s marriage to a modern man.

Over 40 years later, in 1991, the movie was remade once again. The 199 film Father of the Bride by Charles Shyer is extremely well-known. It stars Steve Martin as the father who obsessed over every tiny aspect of his daughter’s wedding while being handed a bill he couldn’t afford to pay. Now, after over 30 years, we will see Father of the Bride hit the screens once again. This time, it’s Andy Garcia’s turn to play the obsessive father.

How Andy Garcia Makes the Perfect Father of the Bride

Father of the Bride
HBO Max

Our first thought would be that this HBO/Warner Bros. adaptation looks extremely familiar. However, with the trailer dropping on YouTube, the movie is surprisingly different from the 1991 version of the film. It does feel that the storyline has been reimagined quite a bit and made to fit this day and age.

For starters, most of the cast members belong to the Latinx community. Starting with Andy Garcia, who plays the titular father, his daughter, played by Good Omens fame Adria Arjona, and the embattled wife is played by the legendary Gloria Estefan. This time, we see from the trailer that Garcia’s character’s marriage is in shambles, and the duo is conspiring to hide their upcoming divorce from their daughter to ensure that her wedding goes by smoothly.

Even if you aren’t a big fan of the rom-com genre, Andy Garcia’s portrayal as the father may just win you over anyway from the trailer itself. Garcia does an excellent job with his comedic timing, along with his more serious elements. He combined the two for this role beautifully. His sardonic sense of humor and delivery is sure to be a hit with audiences.

As for Garcia and Estefan, even though their characters can’t stand each other in the movie, the duo didn’t have to fake being in a long-term relationship. In fact, they have been good friends for over three decades. In an EW interview, Garcia, who has worked with Estefan previously in For Love or Country, says,

"We're very close, so it was very easy to step into the room and say, 'OK, now we're married.’ It was a tremendous joy for me and she's a woman that I admire tremendously. We're family. It was easy to step into that dynamic."

Related: Father of the Bride Director Commemorates 30th Anniversary of Steve Martin Film

The Latinx Representation

Father-of-the-Bride-1
HBO Max

One of the biggest differences in this film is the representation of minorities. It really looks like they want to honor the idea of a Mexican and Cuban family becoming one. This is a pleasant change from the previous two versions of the movie. The first Father of the Bride centered around a white East Coast family of 1950, and the 1991 version was around a wealthy white Californian family.

In the interview with EW, Andy Garcia said:

“There was both an honor and an obligation to deliver a story that’s within the Latin cultures, in this case, the Cuban and the Mexican, trying to relate to one another. There’s an obligation to do it right, represent it without stereotypes, in a way that, although it’s culturally specific, its themes are universal.”

In the same interview, Gloria Estefan says:

"There's an obligation to do it right, represent it without stereotypes, in a way that, although it's culturally specific, its themes are universal. The fact that we're two Latin cultures blending in that movie — to Anglos that might seem weird because they might pile us all into one lump, when we have these subtle differences."

Related: Big Gold Brick Trailer Ties Up Andy Garcia, Megan Fox and Oscar Isaac in a Twisted Comedy

In addition to the main cast, Father of the Bride will also feature several up-and-coming Hispanic actors like Macarena Achaga, Ana Fabrega, Diego Boneta, and Isabela Merced. Chloe Fineman of SNL fame will also be part of the cast, taking on the role of the “ostentatious wedding planner.”

The Super Wealthy Fiance

Gloria and Andy
HBO Max

Something we did notice in the trailer is the overt class commentary going on. We see that the fiance’s family is unbelievably wealthy. We are talking ten Rolls-Royce owning, with multiple private airplanes, and a swanky yacht level kind of rich. There seems to be a big market for rom-com with super-wealthy characters. A great example of this would be Crazy Rich Asians.

Father of the Bride is set to drop on HBO Max on June 16, 2022.