He is separated from everyone who cared about him and rambling around a big house all by himself. The view from his balcony is commented on by every person who comes to the house. Sean lives in a gorgeous house in the L.A. I would have like to have seen the film use the weather to better use and really establish how uncomfortable everything feels when it is over one hundred degrees out. Sean walks around LA in shorts and a light hoodie but always look perfectly quaffed and pristine.
It also drops the idea that LA is experiencing record breaking heat quickly. The changing weather and Sean’s changing life is an easy metaphor that film drops fairly early. The film is set in Los Angeles and during the Santa Ana winds. The conversations Ernesto has with his wife Linda (played by Elena Campbell-Martinez) over the phone when he is with Sean are the funniest parts of the film and help build out Ernesto as a character. She advises him to have a drink and try to have fun. Not sure what to do he calls his wife and tells her a strange man just kissed him on the lips. All the guests are gay men and Ernesto is greeted by the host with a kiss on the mouth. One of the funniest scenes is when Sean takes Ernesto to a party at his friend’s house.
Patiño plays a fish-out-of-water wonderfully and with a quick facial expression or flick of his eyes is able to express his feelings without a word. The film is surprisingly funny at times, especially when Ernesto is put into awkward situations. Sean is energetic and sincere while Ernesto is awkward but kind. Sean and Ernesto spend a great deal of the film together and their dynamic is fun to watch. Sean is attracted to older, Hispanic men and is clearly looking for someone to fill the void left by his partner Carlos. Ernesto is a pretty cool guy and is a dedicated father making the translation of Papi Chulo to “cool or hot daddy” make sense.
Their dynamic and healthy, loving marriage provides a lovely counterbalance to the single and devastated state Sean is in. His wife, Linda, also has the pulse of the situation immediately and tries to council Ernesto. If you think there isn’t a scene when Sean and Ernesto sing Madonna’s “Borderline” in the backseat of a Lyft, you are wrong.Įrnesto realizes quickly that Sean is desperate for company and feels some guilt in taking his money for going on hikes and to parties, but he also needs to provide for his family. It does tackle some common tropes well-tread by similar films – Sean becomes a better man for knowing Ernesto, but he gets there by hitting rock bottom first.
Instead of seeking the professional help he really needs, Sean confides in Ernesto and begins to feel better.īased on the description of the film, you can probably guess at most of the major plot points, and the film isn’t bad or boring, just a bit predictable. Sean speaks a little Spanish and Ernesto speaks a little English, but Sean feels an immediate kinship with Ernesto. It doesn’t take him long to realize he is in over his head, so he hires a Mexican immigrant named Ernesto (Alejandro Patiño) to come and help him. When forced to take mandatory leave, Sean finds a project in repainting his deck. Matt Bomer plays Sean, a recently-single weatherman in L.A.
However, Urban Dictionary would lead me to believe is means something closer to, “cool or hot daddy.” My obvious lack of fluency in Spanish puts me in good company with the lead character of the film. This guala is more widely used by non-Latin Americans thanks to G-Eazy and Carnage’s song.According to Google translate, Papi Chulo means “Pimp daddy” in Spanish. Guala, as in “money,” can be used on its own, guala, or doubled up as guala guala, because why not say it twice. My sister going to that parade shit in a guala ass lil outfit saying "i gotta represent" lmao shes wild. Guala can be used as an insult for someone seen as too showilyy or unattractively Latin (e.g., You’re acting too much like a guala today). It’s used as both a noun and an adjective, so you can call someone a guala while also saying their outfit is really guala. Guala is used to refer to someone who is proud and forward with their Latin culture, from listening to Latin music loudly to wearing styles or colors associated with their culture to speaking a lot of Spanish.Īs noted, guala is closely associated with Puerto Ricans but is found among speakers from other Latin American cultures.