What happens to you when your kids get older and you don’t need to parent them anymore? In addition, what if you are divorced/widowed and live for yourself? Gloria postulates one possible lifestyle choice for that age bracket. Anchored by a strong performance by Paulina Garcia, Gloria adds an entry to the underrepresented sexuality of near-retired former parents genre. Plus it has paintball.
We open on Gloria (Paulina Garcia) in a fifty-something dance club. She seems pretty ubiquitous for her age. She has been divorced for over a decade; she has two adult kids that don’t really need her anymore; she works a normal job. So with time to fill now that parenting is complete, she strikes up a fling with Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez), who is very recently divorced.
Much of the running time is devoted to Gloria’s relationship with Rodolfo. Much of this segment is very good. The relationship has normal ups and downs. What makes it unique is the past lives that interfere. Rodolfo and Gloria raised their families very differently, causing tension that would not exist for a younger couple. Also interesting is how nonchalant the relationship seems; both parties acknowledge they are using the other for a change, and have NO time to deal with excess baggage for a long period. Sex is also a part of their relationship, with both partners agreeing they don’t need to worry as much about their physical appearance as long as they receive gratification. The segments can get a little too long and artistic, but in general they succeed and escalate to a really fun conclusion.
Gloria’s home life is more of a mixed bag. Her family dynamics all feel real with her ex-husband and kids, walking the line between overt melodrama and dishonest behavior where reality lives. The scenes involving neighbors are shoehorned in for more experimentation on Gloria’s part. As a whole, these scenes help shape Gloria’s past to the viewers while showing how her past influences her present. However, these scenes drag quicker than the other scenes and often come off too artistic (like the running gag with the cat).
Paulina Garcia is a revelation here. As the titular Gloria, every scene is infused with her sadness, sexuality, and joy. Garcia sells Gloria’s drive very well; any sad thing that happens to her she laments in the moment then quickly moves on. A scene at a family dinner gives Garcia a chance to showcase many emotions, and she nails all of them. Sergio Hernandez gets to play Garcia’s opposite in Rodolfo, still too heavily focused on his past. He strikes the right note of charismatic but jerky; it’s easy to see why Gloria would like and dislike him simultaneously.
Gloria proves that life can exist once the generational parenting responsibilities and world responsibilities are completed. It is a shining example of how to learn from past experiences and enjoy life a moment at a time. It also must be great to have a song with your name as its title; that always made me a little jealous.