Cindy la Regia is a Mexican comedy film from 2020, co-directed by Catalina Aguilar Mastretta and Santiago Limón, based on Ricardo Cucamonga's Newspaper Comic of the same name.
Cindy is a good girl. More specifically, she is a "Niña Bien", the stereotype of a rich socialite from a good family, from the richest, swankiest part of Mexico, San Pedro in Nuevo Leon. As such she is extremely fashionable, social media savvy, hasn't eaten carbs since she was 11, and most importantly engaged to be married to an equally rich and very handsome man, Pedro. Who is from her same class and everything! What more could a girl want?
Feeling the walls closing in on her, Cindy runs away to Mexico City to try and get a grip on her life, crashing at her cousin Angie's apartment. She has to navigate through getting her first job, dealing with that obnoxious (and unbearably handsome) photographer Mateo at work, and maybe find a boyfriend who is husband material. Oh, and a whole lot of culture clashing shenanigans.
This film provides examples of:
- Broke Episode: Most of the second act is Cindy trying to get a job once her parents cut her off in order to pressure her to come back or grow up.
- Camp Gay: Gus at the office.
- Cross-Cultural Kerfluffle: There are several Played for Laughs, mostly about the differences between Mexico City and Monterrey culture. For example, it's common to call your friend's parents "uncle" or "auntie" in Monterrey, but not in Mexico City. Cue Cindy squicking out her romantic interest Mateo and his sister by mentioning how disappointed her "auntie" was that she didn't marry her son.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: Of the familial and romantic kinds. Cindy helps repair the rift she caused between Angie and Rox by selling her prized earrings to get Rox a plane ticket to travel with Angie. In the process, Rox and Cindy chase after Angie at the airport.
- Gratuitous English: Cindy has excellent English, which she peppers into her conversation.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Angie is a lesbian, and very obviously so, but Cindy at first can't fathom her cousin might be a lesbian despite Angie and Rox holding hands several times and hanging out. Angie has to spell it out when Cindy says she'll keep her co workers from stealing Mateo (whom she thinks is Angie boyfriend).
- Missing Mom: Grandmother, actually, to her father and uncle. Cindy's grandmother up and left for similar reasons to Cindy after her sons reached 17 and 15. Both of whom have a hard time loving her since.
- My Beloved Smother: "Mommy" is every bit the scandalized socialite who covers for Cindy's flight to Mexico City by pretending she's traveled to Houston to learn to make Fondant Cupcakes.
- Skewed Priorities: A lot of Cindy's worldview, starting with viewing marriage as a major validating force for her existence.
- Spoiled Sweet: Cindy, who has lived in privilege her whole life but isn't at all malicious.
- Straight Gay: Rox, something of a necessity since she is hiding her being in a lesbian relationship from her family.
- Third-Act Misunderstanding: Cindy has a bad habit of humiliating herself when drunk, which happens twice in the first two acts of the film. When drunk over a romantic disaster and at a club with her cousin and her girlfriend, she records Angie and Rox dancing together and adds pro LGBT stickers before posting it online. Though meant as a loving, supportive gesture, her drunk self forgot Rox was not out to her family and this caused her and Angie to have a falling out and a breakup. Cue her asking her grandmother for advice and thinking up a Grand Romantic Gesture.
- Valley Girl: Cindy isn't stupid, but her naïveté and social priorities make her a good analogue of this.
