Tell Me When or Dime Cuándo Tú is a romantic comedy movie written and directed by Gerardo Gatica and starring Ximena Romo, Jesús Zavala and Gabriel Nuncio, alongside other cast members.
Sometimes, a plain-old romantic comedy is what you need to make your day better. Well, if nothing else, then to transport you to a world where things aren’t very complicated and everything takes place in a linear fashion. Spanish movie Tell Me When or Dime Cuándo Tú is just that. It features good-looking actors, a very basic storyline, and a short enough runtime to be entertaining but not become a chore.
Tell Me When follows Will, a workaholic with no friends other than his grandparents and their friends. However, his grandfather wants something better for him and on his birthday, asks him to go on a trip to Mexico and learn about his culture and heritage and hopefully find love on the way. However, a terrible tragedy propels Will to take his grandfather’s words seriously which results in his life taking a positive turn.
The movie is as basic as it gets. Tell Me When does not try to be anything different and revels in the glory of what it is – a simple romantic comedy. It doesn’t try to introduce twists, neither does it try to introduce anything new. It’s basic, it’s something we have watched a lot, and it mostly works. If you’re bored of watching heavy content lately then this is something that will cleanse your palette.
Tell Me When has pretty sights and gorgeous people and is bursting with colours. It’s all vibrant and beautiful and is a treat to the eyes. You can very well get lost in the beautiful streets of Mexico as Dani and Will hop from one touristy destination to another. It makes for good content if you’re in for uncomplicated television, but don’t get too worked up about it.
That being said, the movie will give you nothing new or intriguing. At no point in the movie will you wonder what happens next, because you know how these two will end up together. It’s a love story we have seen before and I am pretty sure we will see again. There will come certain moments when it might get a tad bit sluggish and might become boring. There are points here that the story could’ve delved into, but it plays it safe and stays in the shallower end of the pond.
Performances, too, are fine. Jesús Zavala and Ximena Romo look lovely as the friend-turned-lovers and have decent chemistry. Romo, especially, looks gorgeous and feels like she belongs in the beautiful and colourful Mexico City. The director does not try to push in too many jokes so that it becomes a headache for the audiences. For the most part, the Tell Me When movie keeps it low and safe and thus makes for a dreamy and breezy watch.
Summing up: Tell Me When
Tell Me When is about how easy it is to forget your roots and also about finding yourself. The movie, however, does not take that angle and focuses solely on Will’s romantic pursuits. There’s nothing wrong with that – just that, there’s nothing new in that. The story takes a tried and tested route that we have seen too many times. There’s not much conflict to keep you guessing or intrigued. It’s a decent watch but remember that it’s something to veg out in front of, not to sit up and take notice.
Tell Me When is streaming on Netflix.
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