Parents' Guide to Love at First Kiss

Movie NR 2023 96 minutes
Love at First Kiss Movie Poster: Romance in Madrid.

Common Sense Media Review

Jennifer Green By Jennifer Green , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Spanish romcom has sex, language, drinking.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

What's the Story?

Javier (Alvaro Cervantes) has the ability to see into the future of a potential relationship the first time he kisses a woman in LOVE AT FIRST KISS (ERES TU). This sabotages most of his relationships as he dates women until he gets bored, knowing full well he will eventually break up with them. When he's pushed into a kiss with his best friend Roberto's (Gorka Otxoa) girlfriend, Lucía (Silvia Alonso), he envisions their future as a happy couple. When Roberto and Lucía break up, Javier begins dating her. They start out happily, and he's committed based on the premonition he had. But he discovers that his clairvoyance means the relationship lacks spontaneity for him. Meanwhile, he meets Ariana (Susana Abaitua), a drifter who is spontaneous, and he realizes he has feelings for her too.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

This Spanish romcom about learning to live in the moment lacks the spontaneity it wants for its characters, but its winning 30-something cast makes it watchable. All four of the main actors in Love at First Kiss (including Crazy About Her costars Cervantes and Abaitua) play their characters with dignity and sincerity, even when their overly-scripted roles require awkward or improbable choices.

Director Alauda Ruiz de Azúa's prior film, parenting drama Lullaby (Cinco Lobitos), based on her own script, won rave reviews among critics. With Love, she's working from someone else's script (two male writers) and switching with fluctuating success to comedy. Gawky pacing in some scenes undercuts the intended humor, while certain played-for-laughs script points feel outdated and overly facile, like two secondary female characters who both cope with moments of personal instability by drinking too much.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the idea of seeing the future, as Javier does in Love at First Kiss. If you could have this power, would you want it? Does it prove beneficial for Javier? Why or why not?

  • Javier seems to learn to appreciate spontaneity in his life and his relationships. How does Ariana help him discover this?

  • The film is set in Madrid and shot in Spanish. How does it compare with other films or series you've watched that are set in Spain?

Movie Details

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Love at First Kiss Movie Poster: Romance in Madrid.

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