Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)

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1:53

Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)

In Theaters Apr 17

1h 41m

Drama

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89%

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18 Reviews

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In a tight-knit Dominican American community in The Bronx, Rico (Juan Collado) is hustling his way through the summer, selling bootleg "nutcracker" cocktails out of a beach cooler and chasing girls without a care in the world. But when his teenage girlfriend, Destiny (Destiny Checo), begins crashing at his place with his family, turning their small apartment into a stage for their messy, complicated young love, it's only a matter of time before they’re hit with the sobering reality of growing up too fast in a city that waits for no one. Writer-director Joel Alfonso Vargas turns his hometown into the heartbeat of his debut feature, teaming up with discovery talent Collado and Checo, to deliver a raw and deeply authentic look at life in The Bronx. With humor and grit, Vargas paints a tender portrait of the chaos and charm of urban life, and the ups and downs of youthful abandon when things take an unexpected turn.

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In Theaters Apr 17

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Joel Alfonso Vargas

Director

Juan Collado

Rico

Destiny Checo

Destiny

Yohanna Florentino

Mami

Nathaly Navarro

Sally

Gregory Requena

Police Officer 1

Maxwell Rabb

Slant Magazine

3d

3/4

Across the film, Joel Alfonso Vargas delivers an intimately observed portrait of Rico and the Bronx’s Dominican community, folding warmth into the very real pressures that define daily life.

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Christian Zilko

IndieWire

02/03/2025

A-

Mad Bills to Pay rests on the performances of Collado and Checo, both first-time actors who carry the understated film on their shoulders. Rico is charismatic to the point where watching him do just about anything would be entertaining.

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Jordan Mintzer

The Hollywood Reporter

01/31/2025

The result can be both compelling and a bit amateur at times, though never less than genuine.

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Mark Dujsik

Mark Reviews Movies

1h

3/4

The story here may be simple ... but these characters aren't.

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Edward Douglas

The Weekend Warrior (Substack)

3h

8/10

A fantastic, mature feature debut from Vargas that’s on par with the early films of Sean Baker.

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Roberto Tyler Ortiz

Geek Vibes Nation

2d

8/10

For a first feature, Mad Bills to Pay is really promising. There are pacing issues, and Rico can be a difficult character to stay with for the entire runtime, but the film feels honest in a way that’s hard to fake.

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Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo): Trailer 1

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Synopsis

In a tight-knit Dominican American community in The Bronx, Rico (Juan Collado) is hustling his way through the summer, selling bootleg "nutcracker" cocktails out of a beach cooler and chasing girls without a care in the world. But when his teenage girlfriend, Destiny (Destiny Checo), begins crashing at his place with his family, turning their small apartment into a stage for their messy, complicated young love, it's only a matter of time before they’re hit with the sobering reality of growing up too fast in a city that waits for no one. Writer-director Joel Alfonso Vargas turns his hometown into the heartbeat of his debut feature, teaming up with discovery talent Collado and Checo, to deliver a raw and deeply authentic look at life in The Bronx. With humor and grit, Vargas paints a tender portrait of the chaos and charm of urban life, and the ups and downs of youthful abandon when things take an unexpected turn.

Director: Joel Alfonso Vargas
Producer: Paolo Maria Pedullà
Screenwriter: Joel Alfonso Vargas
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co: Perpetuum Films, Killer Films, Watermark Media, Spark Features
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 17, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 41m