Summary
There’s little to laugh about in Netflix’s new international comedy So Much Love to Give, as this banal bigamist story far outstays its welcome.
Sometimes there’s little that needs to be said. Such is the case when it comes to Netflix’s new Argentinean comedy So Much Love to Give, directed by Marcos Carnevale and written by him alongside Adrián Suar. It’s in an old, overly familiar style, and holds virtually no surprises or insight about its bigamist protagonist Fernando (also Suar), or his two wives whom fate conspires to introduce to one another.
One of Fernando’s wives is the kindergarten teacher and homebody Paula (Gabriela Toscano); the other is Vera (Soledad Villamil), a more liberal and outgoing woman, naturally. Both are opposites, unaware of the other’s existence, but Fernando, we’re led to believe, really loves them both – hence why he married them both and continues to live happily ever after with both, albeit separately.
Naturally, and predictably, both women find out about each other, but nothing improves for this discovery and So Much Love to Give never really changes its focus from Fernando, couched as it is in his perspective and freewheeling have-your-cake-and-eat-it lifestyle. The underlying attitude is an above-it-all conservatism that grates, giving its women little to do beyond orbit the insistent black-hole gravity of Fernando’s ego. Even putting this aside, the film’s limp technically, with repetitive shots cobbled together by poor editing. Experienced actors boast little chemistry and churn through a bland script for the duration of a runtime that feels twenty minutes longer than it is. So Much Love to Give feels like significantly more love than anyone asked for.
