A messy balancing act of romance and sisterly love
It can be easy to blame someone other than yourself for your own predicament. Sarah (Aislinn Derbez) in Don't Blame Karma (¿Qué Culpa Tiene el Karma?) has it easier because her life is nothing but misery.
Don't Blame Karma is a Netflix original Mexican friends-to-lovers romcom directed by Elisa Miller and based on the No culpes al karma book series. Sarah's best friend from high school, Aaron (Gil Cerezo), was the love of her life. But when he moved away to become famous singer "Aaron Star" and was never heard from again, Sarah thought it was part of a curse of bad luck.
Ever since her younger sister Lucy (Renata Notney) cursed Sarah – the five-year-old claimed she would steal all her desires – Sarah can't stand a good thing. As the fashion designer struggles to keep her clothing store afloat, everything she wants for herself ends up with Lucy instead, including a surprise engagement to none other than Aaron Star. Sarah tries to make herself happy for the Instagram-perfect couple. But it turns out that she never stopped loving Aaron.
From Sarah's (unnecessary) fourth-wall-breaking glances into the camera to her self-deprecating and sarcastic jabs, Miller and her writing team strive to make Sarah intensely relatable and likeable. And Derbez gives the very awkward charm the role demands.
As the brother duo, Derbez and Notney are charismatic leads for a charming cast, even as they both tend to overact in playing their polar opposite archetypes. However, mostly stereotypes work for this romantic comedy. All in all, Don't Blame Karma is a saccharine comfort watch that can lean on its scarier moments.
This romcom has heartwarming messages about family love and self-improvement, though they come at a price. Sara and Lucy's storyline is flat compared to the spark that Derbez and Cereso share as romantic leads. However, their chemistry is sidelined to focus on the less compelling family dynamic, as well as the simple lesson Sarah learns along the way.
The moments Sara and Aaron share are cliche, but in the best way. Their romance stems from basic buddy-lover tropes, with the characters sweetly reliving childhood moments. This is a recipe designed to wow the audience.
All this does is flip the script and attempt a more subversive ending for the romantic genre, instead of blaming Karma for Sarah and Aaron's love story. "Attempt" is the key word. Because if you're going to stray from a tried-and-true romcom formula, you've got to have something worth saying.
Post a Comment