Ana de la Reguera jumps behind the camera with “A Man per Week”
Look, if you thought dating apps had changed everything, wait until you see what Ana de la Reguera has to say about it. The Veracruz actress, a well-known face from films like “Nacho Libre” and “Cowboys & Aliens”, has just taken a radical turn in her career. This weekend we will not only see her on screen, but she will debut as co-director alongside Marco Polo Constandse in the romantic comedy “A Man a Week”. And the enthusiasm is palpable.
“I’m very, very excited,” De la Reguera confessed in a recent interview in Mexico City. “It was incredible to have this opportunity… for a first feature film, I think it was a great school to have Polo next to me, I learned a lot.”.
It’s not just any step. Directing your first feature film is already a monumental challenge. But doing it while also starring in the film is another level. De la Reguera knows this, and he embarked on this adventure with his eyes wide open, taking advantage of a story that resonated deeply with him.
A personal project behind the camera
The film follows Mónica (played by De la Reguera), a copy editor whose seemingly orderly life falls apart when her husband confesses to infidelity. After the divorce and a year of being single, her friends push her into the digital world of dating, with the ambitious goal of meeting one man a week. What seems like a fun premise quickly turns into an eye-opening journey into modern expectations of love.
For de la Reguera, this wasn’t just another script. It was something personal.
“I really liked the story and I believed that it was something that had happened to me, that I was experiencing and that I wanted to share it,” he explained about his impulse to also sneak into the director’s chair.
The creative process was a two-voice dance. Marco Polo Constandse, an experienced director in the genre with films like “Enfermo Amor”, found in this collaboration a different challenge: negotiating ideas with someone who had exactly the same creative weight.
“Negotiating ideas, that’s the most complex thing… I think one of the things I enjoy about this process is having to present your ideas out loud to someone who has the same risk as you,” Constandse said. He acknowledged that there are many paths in the film that are genuine proposals from Ana and that he would not have taken alone.
The honesty behind the love algorithm
“One Man a Week” does not paint a rosy picture of digital dating. Monica quickly discovers that profiles can be facades and that finding the perfect match can be overwhelming. The plot even takes a comic-dramatic turn when she comes across her ex-husband’s profile on the same app.
De la Reguera speaks from some of his own experience on this topic.
“Almost everything has happened to me, honestly… What I have taken most from dating apps are friends. And I have four, four very good friends… so that’s like winning.”.
That search connects Mónica with Bernardo (Martín Altomaro), another divorcee navigating similar waters. A curious detail: their friendship is born around a cat. In fact, the feline was almost another character in the creative discussions.
“I’m super into cats… And the truth is, (Mónica’s) cat didn’t exist in the film and I was insistent,” De la Reguera revealed, pointing out that point as one of her biggest disagreements with Constandse. For her it was crucial: “this friendship is built from the cat and there they empathize a lot.”.
The cast is completed with Roberto Quijano as the unfaithful husband, José María de Tavira as Santiago (the most promising prospect) and actresses Patricia Garza and Epy Vélez as the meddlesome friends. There’s even room for a nostalgic musical touch with Amanda Miguel as the narrator and her classic “No Te Amara siempre” sung at the top of her lungs in a memorable shower scene.
In the end, what this film offers is something valuable: honesty. It doesn’t sugarcoat the process. It shows the stumbles, the anxiety of meeting so many new people and that universal feeling of rebuilding after a fall. It’s a romantic comedy for our digital age, but with its heart firmly set on the oldest human emotions.
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Ready to laugh (and maybe relate) to this journey? “A Man per Week” is already on national billboards. Share this news if you know someone who needs a good story about second chances.
