Celines Toribio, Chelsy Bautista, Colao 2, comedy, Dominican Republic, Fidia Peralta, Frank Perozo, Karen Yapoort, Manny Perez, Miguel Cespedes, movies, Nashla Bogaert, Raymond Pozo, reviews, Richard Douglas, Shailyn Sosa, Tiby Camacho
January 28, 2023
by Carla Hay
“Colao 2”
Directed by Frank Perozo
Spanish with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in the Dominican Republic, the comedy film “Colao 2” (a sequel to 2017’s “Colao”) features an all-Latin cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: A coffee farmer’s marriage has communication problems around the same time he has the dilemma of whether or not to sell his farm to a wealthy business mogul.
Culture Audience: “Colao 2” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, the first “Colao” movie, and inoffensive romantic comedies.
As a romantic comedy sequel, “Colao 2” has no real surprises. However, the movie is entertaining and easy to follow in this story about a married couple with relationship problems. And in this large ensemble cast, each character’s personality is memorable.
Directed by Frank Perozo, “Colao 2” is a sequel to 2017’s “Colao,” which was Perozo’s feature-film directorial debut. Miguel Alcantara and Kendy Yanoreth wrote the screenplay for “Colao 2.” José Pastor and Jose Ramon Alama wrote the screenplay for “Colao,” which means “brewed” in Spanish. Both movies were filmed and take place in the Dominican Republic.
In “Colao,” an insecure coffee farmer named Antonio (played by Manny Pérez) was a 40-year-old bachelor who—with the help of his goofy cousins Rafael (played by Raymond Pozo) and Felipe (played by Miguel Céspedes) playing matchmaker—found love with confident Laura (played by Nashla Bogaert), a city dweller who had a very different lifestyle from Antonio’s. In “Colao 2,” which takes place six years after the end of “Colao,” Antonio and Laura are married and have daughter who’s about 3 years old. This family of three live on the coffee farm.
The marriage of Antonio and Laura has hit a rough patch due to communication problems. Antonio has received a lucrative offer from a wealthy businessman named Don Papo (played by Richard Douglas) to buy the farm. Antonio doesn’t tell Laura about this offer and has kept some financial problems a secret from Laura. Antonio has a business proposal for Don Papo that Antonio thinks would be a good compromise.
Antonio is eager to present this business proposal to Don Papo, who is very hard to reach. And so, when Antonio happens to meet Don Papo’s young, attractive and free-spirited daughter Micaela (played by Karen Yapoort), he thinks he can get to Don Papo by being charming to Micaela.
Meanwhile, Rafael and his wife Maribel (played by Celines Toribio), who is Antonio’s sister, are having problems at home. Rafael is worried that their daughter Estrellita (played by Chelsy Bautista) is going to drop out of college. Rafael starts to act like a very overprotective father, while Maribel thinks that Rafael should lighten up.
Felipe and his wife Amarilis (played by Shailyn Sosa) experience their own marital challenges when Laura’s playboy brother Ernesto comes to visit during a gathering for family and friends at the home of Laura and Antonio. Ernesto immediately starts flirting with Amarilis, who seems flattered by the attention.
Micaela is a party girl who likes to go to nightclubs. She hangs out with her cousin Flor (played by Tiby Camacho) and Flor’s friend Nancy (played by Fidia Peralta), who are all bachelorettes. Antonio, Rafael and Felipe all end up at the same nightclub as these younger, unmarried women. You can easily guess what happens after Antonio starts dancing with Micaela, and the three men’s wives find out that they are at this nightclub.
“Colao 2” doesn’t really do anything original, but the movie is appealing because of the cast members’ believable chemistry and good comedic timing. It’s not an extremely funny movie. It’s adequately amusing, in the way that a familiar joke is amusing. You already know what the punchline is, but it can be more enjoyable, depending on who’s telling the joke. In that regard, the talented cast members of “Colao 2” elevate what could have been a very mediocre and forgettable romantic comedy.
Spanglish Movies released “Colao 2” in select U.S cinemas on January 12, 2024. The movie was released in the Dominican Republic on November 30, 2023.