Nustled next to each other cosily, the colourfully-dressed pop singer Gloria Estefan and Hollywood superstar, Andy Garcia, looking suave in a double-breasted blazer and pocket square - surely two of the most famous names in Cuban American culture, certainly seem relaxed in each other's company. You can tell they’ve met before.
"He [Andy] made me part of it," explains Gloria, revealing how she ended up on board. "They sent him the script first, and when I got the text from Andy saying, 'I have something for you' and I saw what it was, I got very excited. I had many things that I had to do that I moved because I wanted to be part of this film. I just saw that Gary Alazraki was going to be the director, because I'd seen Nosotros los Nobles and I loved that film - I loved how he directed it so it was a perfect fit."
In the movie (the third time the novel has been adapted for the screen), Andy and Gloria play Billy and Ingrid, a Cuban American couple who have been married for a number of years who are having some problems. The on-screen chemistry between them is noticeably strong, suggesting a long-standing real-life rapport.
"More than 30 years," to be exact, declares Andy, who rose to fame in The Untouchables (1987) and then The Godfather Part III. He adds, now talking about the film, "there is something interesting in that it is Ingrid who realises there are problems in the marriage more deeply than my character."
Gloria notes, "There is love there; I'm trying to wake him up so he realises that I'm tired and the opportunity that he's missing to live because he's been working so much and at the end of the day what's most important is family."
The singer, one of the biggest pop stars of the 1980s who, initially with her Miami Sound Machine and later as a solo artist, was the first to take Latin music to the mainstream, adds, "I'd worked with Andy before but this for me was like a party."
As a huge fan of Gloria's music since childhood, this was the first time I could ever recall seeing her acting in a film. Her character comes across as very kind-hearted, as does the real Gloria, and brings a touch of humour with some of her subtle looks and glances. Though not a trained actress, Gloria has a lifetime of experience as a performer, and a persona that easily transfers to the screen.
"If they're good films, such as this one, then absolutely," says the mother-of-two. "They've sent me different scripts over the years...I was in a film called Music of the Heart with Meryl Streep and Angela Bassett, I was in the film For Love or Country with Andy, which was amazing, but many of the things I was sent didn't interest me because they were parts that were typical Latina stereotypes, or they weren't going to advance me as an actor.
"And I have so much work - I'm still recording and making music and it has to be something that's worth it, and this was something that I was prepared to move mountains to be a part of. It has to be interesting with a true-to-life story that touches the heart or the mind."
Both Gloria and Andy were able to relate to their characters, being of Cuban descent, being married to their respective spouses for many years and both being parents to grown-up children. "That helps of course," says Gloria. "One tries to do something for them and although maybe I'm not exactly like Ingrid, she has many things that I recognise as part of my personality."
Andy concludes: "And all these characteristics are present in our common culture, not just in Cuban culture but in American culture, Argentinian culture, Colombian culture, Puerto Rican culture, Dominican culture... Billy and Ingrid exist everywhere - it's a universal theme - and they have raised two young women with a lot of personality and strength, with a mother and father who provide a good example, and this is something very positive for our children."
Adria Arjona, daughter of famous Guatemalan singer-songwriter Richardo Arjona, plays Billy and Ingrid's eldest daughter, Sofia, who surprises her parents by announcing her plans to marry her boyfriend Adan, played by Mexican actor Diego Boneta, who until now is best known for his memorable performance in the title role in Netflix's Luis Miguel: The Series.
The young, headstrong couple inject a contemporary perspective into the film: it is Sofia who proposes to Adan, not the other way around, and the couple have opted for a non-Catholic wedding. This conflicts with Billy's traditional outlook, which, as is so often the way, draws derision and laughter from some of the younger characters, and one can't help but feel a bit sorry for him at times.
Adan is a wholly progressive, non-threatening young man, keen to make a good impression, and it turns out he has quite a lot in common with the actor portraying him.
"I feel that we're very similar, Adan and I," suggests Diego, "I am proudly feminist and I love showing this modern side to masculinity. The comedy that exists between Billy and Adan... who are totally opposite but in the end they have many things in common, and that journey throughout the film strikes me as very sweet."
I can’t help but suggest after having binged on Diego’s recent series, that clean cut good-boy Adan is a far cry from the troubled Mexican pop icon that he depicted as Luis Miguel.
"Totally different!" agrees Diego, "that's what I loved so much about this part - that it was a totally opposite character, and it was that challenge that really drew me to this project."
Talking of Luis Miguel: The Series, Macarena Achaga also pops up in the movie, although this time, in a curious turn of events, she is playing Diego's step-mother rather than his daughter!
"The film isn't an exact remake of Father of the Bride," observes Adria, "it's a more modern version. The question I always asked myself was, 'Who is the father of the bride in 2022?', 'who is the bride in 2022?', 'who is the groom in 2022?' - they are exactly these characters.
"The clash between the generations is super important and interesting, because there are traditions (in the conservative Latin community) and expectations on women where young women now say, 'I don't want to do that, I have other ideas for my life - I want to be a lawyer, I want to be a CEO, I want to get married but quickly because I want to work', and that's something that Billy doesn't understand. These clashes are super interesting for me and also very funny."
What was it like working with Adria on the film? I nudge provocitavely.
"Horrible," jokes Diego, "it was really difficult working together, we didn't have a good time, we're not friends at all…
“It was a great experience and I hope it's the first of many." Adria intercepts, "Honesty, it was very nice."
Adria was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in Mexico, so it must have been enjoyable for her to see the 'Mexican' touches in the film - mariachis, carne asada, cultural references - I suggest.
"Yes, but I'm also 'Boricua' - I'm half Puerto Rican and half Guatemalan," she says. "I lived in Mexico but also the Cuban flavour is very similar to Puerto Rican flavour: this island vibration and this Caribbean flavour - our food is similar... That's what I liked most, that connection between both cultures."
That connection - and subtle quirks - between Cuban and Mexican culture is indeed a highlight of the film, but at one point there is an explosive outburst between the Cuban father of the bride and the Mexican father of the groom leading Gloria Estefan's character to remark that "We're all Sharks here", a clear reference to West Side Story.
Both Adria and Diego are familiar with the previous takes on Father of the Bride: the 1950 film starring Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor and the 1991 version with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton.
"My mother put the film with Steve Martin and Martin Short on for me many years ago and I loved it," remembers Adria, "and the Elizabeth Taylor version I saw a short time ago when I was given a copy of the film - I hadn't seen it."
Isabela Merced, who already has a number of screen credits to her name, despite only being 20 years old, plays Cora, the bride's younger sister. "It was in summertime too so it really did feel like a vacation," she notes, "full of so many laughs and memorable experiences."
The younger sister character brings the outsider's perspective, Isabela asserts.
"I think she very much felt like an outsider in this family that has extremely high standards for each of their kids, and Billy who has these traditional roles and Cora not filling any of those expectations when it comes to being traditional... so I think the stubborness as well. But I personally feel that way with my family and my brothers - I feel almost as though I'm held to a higher standard.
"I think being the only girl in a family full of boys is different and it's hard, so I could relate to that - no matter how much you do it's still not enough, in a way."
Providing further comic relief - and stealing a number of scenes in the process - is the wedding planner, played by Martin Short in the 1991 film and superbly played this time around by Chloe Fineman, representing the idea of the modern 'know-it-all', exaggerating their skillset and believing that they can do anything and everything just with their mobile phone.
She starts off as an annoying character but grew on me and is quite lovable by the end of the film.
"I feel like it's kind of similar to how I am," says Chloe - "I feel like I come off annoying but people grow to love me in the end!"
Some of the movie's most amusing moments come from early exchanges between Chloe's character with her lack of cultural awareness ("Flamenco and Flamingo") and Billy. Comedy is certainly something that Chloe, who is making her feature film debut in Father of the Bride, enjoys. "I think the less serious you can take yourself, and can laugh at the insanity of the world we're living in, the healthier you live - so I like being a part of that."
The film looked like a lot of fun to make, I comment.
"It was a blast," enthuses Chloe, "I was like, 'If all movies are like this, I want to be doing movies forever'. It was like a vacation and a party and a family - every day was fun, truly. And just as much fun as we had shooting it, we had outside at night after we wrapped, drinking."
Like all the young actors, Chloe was in awe of Andy and Gloria.
"They were the best mentors," she reveals, "so down-to-earth... Andy's an incredible actor and it felt like a masterclass getting to watch him act and how he does stuff and goes through a script. This was really my first movie so I was really lucky to learn from these wonderful and great people."
Father of the Bride will be Available on Digital Download from June 18th
Director: Gary Alazraki / Screenplay: Matt Lopez / Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Paul Michael Perez / Executive producers: Jesse Ehrman, Andy Garcia, Ted Gidlow, Brad Pitt / Editor: Jon Poll / Music: Terence Blanchard
Cast: Andy Garcia, Gloria Estefan, Adria Arjona, Diego Boneta, Isabela Merced, Chloe Fineman, Pedro Damian
