"Como Si Fuera La Primera Vez" (approximate English language translation: How It Would Be The First Time) is the name of two movies. The first movie is the non-literally translated title of the Adam Sandler comedy "50 First Dates". The second movie is a Mexican remake of that movie, released in 2018, starring Vadhir Derbez and Ximena Romo.

The movie is a romantic comedy, with some dramatic parts. Its premise is also a bit unsettling. Luci (Ximena Romo) is a young woman who has been in an accident that causes her to lose her memory every day. While she is functional and can remember events within a day, at the beginning of each day, she believes it is still the day of her accident. Diego is a young zoologist who meets Luci and has a fun time with her. However, when he meets her the next day at the same cafe, she is angered at his familiarity. Wondering what is going on, the staff at the cafe tell him the situation: Luci has lost her memory, and the staff of the cafe are part of a ruse, concocted by Luci's family (a father and brother), to protect her from the truth. To do this, they reenact the same events every day. Diego's attraction to Luci disrupts those plans. He sets out to meet Luci each day, and has a fun time with her, even though it threatens to disrupt the bubble in which she lives. (As a Spanish second language speaker, it did take me a while to realize the premise: at first I thought something supernatural was happening, a la Groundhog Day.

I wasn't aware that this was a remake, much less of an Adam Sandler movie, until I started watching it. There are some things that make more sense in the context of Latino culture: for example, the doting affection that Luci's father and brother treat her with makes more cultural sense. The most significant difference for me is that Vadhir Derbez is both more handsome and better as a romantic lead than I imagine Sandler would be (although I read this was one of the first Sandler roles where he abandoned his smarmy persona). These elements made the film more cute than it otherwise might have been, because at several times during the movie, the basic premise--- a romantic relationship with someone not totally in possession of their faculties-- did seem kind of unsettling to me.

I liked this film, despite those problems with its premise and its association with Adam Sandler, and I would also say it is an easy enough film for a non-native speaker to follow.

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