“The Dad Quest” is a Mexican film on Netflix that revisits the father-son dynamic to pose a curious question: is the bond between father and child shaped by biology, or does it come through memories and shared experiences?
“The Dad Quest” presents these questions again to offer us one of those movies that always work: a film with a charming child who doesn’t have a good relationship with his father, and who, through the narrative process of the movie, will confront these problems to solve them.
It’s a classic formula that its director, Salvador Espinosa, approaches in the most traditional way, without eccentricities in terms of form or narrative. “The Dad Quest” gives us exactly what we expect to see, in the way we expect to see it, and resolves the matter as we anticipate.
Are you expecting a family movie? Well, here it is.
The Plot
The plot of “The Dad Quest” revolves around Gallo, a television producer whose life takes an unexpected turn when he learns that his son, Benito, might not be his biological child. Everything falls apart when Benito’s mother dies in an accident. Instead of allowing this revelation to fracture their bond, Gallo makes a crucial decision: to embark on a journey with Benito to discover the truth. They question his mother’s acquaintances, investigate, and travel together, which further unites them in this search for Benito’s biological father.
The Actors
The film features a talented cast, with Michel Brown playing the role of Gallo, the father. The character of Benito, the son who embarks on this search with his father, is played by Martino Leonardi. Mayra Hermosillo also appears in the film. The supporting cast includes Eduardo Santamarina, Fernanda Castillo, Julieta Egurrola, Angélica Vale, Erik Rubín, Arath de la Torre, Ricardo Fastlicht, Ricardo O’Farrill, Morena González, Daniel Ábrego, Ezequiel Cárdenas, Angélica Rogel, and Alexis De Anda, suggesting a rich tapestry of characters they encounter during their journey.
About the Film
“The Dad Quest” is primarily a family film that at no point intends to deviate from the established norms of this genre. Charles Chaplin invented the formula, and since then, it has been applied for over a century, always with magnificent results in terms of audience reception: it has pleased, it pleases, and, making predictions, it will continue to please.
However, don’t expect it to appeal to everyone. If you are looking for something new and original, “The Dad Quest” is probably not a movie for you. It doesn’t stray from the script at any point, and the jokes, the comedic part, maintain a rather tame tone so as not to offend anyone.
“The Dad Quest” is not a bad movie, but it is a movie that, by following the formula so closely, doesn’t contribute anything new to it, and we constantly have the feeling of having seen a thousand movies just like this one. Everyone does their job well, and everyone knows what kind of movie they came to make: no narrative improvisations because the formula works so well that deviating from the script would almost be a sacrilege.
Without surprises, “The Dad Quest” is the family cinema that you all expect, delivered in the most classic way, and although it won’t surprise anyone, it is also sentimental.
Enjoy it.
Where to Watch “The Dad Quest”
