The cast of My American Family. (From l. to r.) Magi Avila, Victor Migalchan, Steve Jacques, and Kimberly Yee.
LOS ANGELES, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 4/11/2021 – “If you want to drive a Mercedes Benz, we have a 1997 Mercedes Benz on the lot right now in our ‘as is’ section. Now for the man who wants to have everything but can’t afford financing, call today and meet with one of our representatives,” says Danny Trejo in his role as Ricardo De La Rosa the owner of Ricardo’s Used Luxury Imports, in the new Amazon comedy, My American Family.
Los Angeles has long been seen as the place where people come to reinvent themselves. So it’s fitting that this LA based series has as one of its main backdrops, a car dealership to provide just the right image for anyone at any stage of their dreams.
Also fitting for a Los Angeles based series, is the element of unconventionality that runs throughout the various plot and sub-plot lines of My American Family.
The Martinez family is the titular American Family of Alexander Ramonovych (Victor Migalchan), an exchange student from China. There is an immediate culture clash as father Miguel (Steve Jaques), mother Victoria (Magi Avila) and daughter Phoebe (Marilyn Flores) convey surprise upon discovering that the Chinese exchange student they agreed to host, is not as young nor as Chinese as they expected. Instead, it’s an extremely wealthy adult Caucasian man who just happened to live in China, who lands on their doorstep.
Then again, Los Angeles is very much the land of serendipity. As it turns out, Miguel Martinez’s dreams never included working at an auto dealership-even one owned by Ricardo De La Rosa. One of them was always to be a martial arts champion. Something that Victor can help him with as he himself has mastered the discipline of Kung Fu.
Los Angeles is a notoriously expensive town to live in compared to most, thus making it the land of the “side hustle.” In this time of COVID and job insecurity, many can relate to Kimi (Kimberly Yee). A recent college grad, she can do it all from dog walking to customer service to driving, presumably for a Lyft type company. But when a tv producer steps into her vehicle and by ride’s end offers to take a look at her resume and follows up with a job offer, can she thrive in the fast-paced world of entertainment? Or will it be a “be careful what you wish for because it might come true” situation? Either way, Yee brings the right amount of frustration and optimism to her role.
At times, some of the dialogue in My American Family veers into the uneven and some scenarios pile on the cringe (Miguel’s first starring role in a commercial comes to mind) but there are many reasons to like My American Family which does succeed in producing many laugh out loud moments through imagery and again that dialogue. When it’s good it’s very good.
One of the breakout performances in My American Family has to be Magi Avila. Her role as Victoria could easily have devolved into simply a rapid Spanish speaking Latina stereotype. (And to be fair, there are scenes to that effect.) However, Avila’s precise comedic timing and sense of the absurd shine. Moments in the show such as when Victoria is questioning Victor as to where he is from, turns into the kind of goofy comedy that takes the viewer by surprise in a wonderful way.
What stands out the most about My American Family, is the respect and affection with which the different ethnic characters are portrayed. When was the last time that a wealthy Mexican American family was the lead in a U.S TV show? When was the last time a Chinese poem was read on American TV with reverence by someone outside of that ethnicity? My American Family is also insightful enough to poke awkward fun at the assumptions that people might make based on race or ethnicity. Such as it not occurring to Victor until it’s too late that his African American airport driver might actually own the company he drives for.
During a virtual press event with the show’s creators and stars Yee observed, “It’s really important to realize that yes, there are boundaries we can’t cross and all that but I think where humor came was taking the stereotypes and breaking them in a respectful way and also making it clear that just because you’re Asian or you’re this or you’re that doesn’t mean that you fall into that category. In fact, most times the opposite is true.”
Where My American Family succeeds is in its portrayal of the multi-ethnic vibe and struggles of Angelenos. A portrayal that blends humor and authenticity. One that is worth your attention.
You can watch the trailer right here:
Cover photo of Danny Trejo and Victor Migalchan and all other photography courtesy of Movieverse Entertainment.
Cast
Danny Trejo Ricardo De La Rossa
Victor Migalchan Alexander Ramonovich
Magi Avila Victoria Martinez
Marilyn Flores Phoebe Guadalupe Martinez
Steve Jacques Miguel Martinez
Kimberly Yee Kimi Jiang
Director: Victor Migalchan
Writers: Mathew Clark, Alex Kotsyk, Victor Migalchan, Kimberly Yee
Producers: Edward Cologna, Jay Menez, Victor Migalchan, Zhiliang Tang
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