Critic Reviews

What distinguishes Fonzy is its attention to Diego’s Galician roots. As his character discovers his offspring and his paternal instinct, Mr. Garcia gives the bedraggled but compassionate Diego an aspect slightly more emphatic than his screen forebears.

Doval’s handling of ideas, notably the bioethical issues raised by artificial insemination by donor, is deft, and she benefits immensely from the performance of Garcia (her husband in real life) in a role that requires him to weave between comedy and a portrayal of emotional growth.

Director Isabelle Doval’s relentlessly upbeat take is warm and fluffy, but leaves the sugary sentiments for the tear-jerking final reel.

The comic plot of Fonzy is outrageous, but to writer-director Isabelle Doval, it's just an armature that supports its gently funny characters and its themes of emotional and filial connections.

Watch all of them back to back and it's the tiny details that start to become fascinating, like the way Fonzy's version of the climax is fractionally less sentimental, how lead Garcia is more sympathetic than Vaughn but less engaging than Starbuck's schlubby Patrick Huard.