If you find dinner parties awkward, prepare to cringe your way through a new trailer for Salma Hayek-starrer “Beatriz at Dinner.” Beatriz (Hayek) has way more to deal with than dinner companions droning on about their boring jobs or chewing with their mouths open. The party escalates into an all-out war.
“At an elegant dinner party in a swanky hilltop home, conversation between a soft-spoken holistic healer and a hard-nosed businessman explodes into a bitter clash of cultures,” the film’s synopsis details.
The spot shows how Beatriz wasn’t initially invited to the party. She came to practice on the host (Connie Britton, “Nashville”) before the festivities kicked off and car trouble prevented her from leaving.
At the dinner table, Beatriz begins a story: “When I first came to the United States a long time ago — .” She’s interrupted mid-sentence by the wildly obnoxious billionaire, Doug (John Lithgow), who asks, “Did you come legally?”
Doug values profit over people and the future of the environment. “The world is dying,” Beatriz says. Unfazed and unimpressed, a smirking Doug responds, “Elephants are dying, bees are dying.” Doug will undoubtedly earn comparisons to another privileged businessman who denies climate change and is suspicious of — and hostile towards — immigrants.
Hayek received an Oscar nomination in 2003 for her role in “Frida,” Julie Taymor’s Frida Kahlo biopic. “Septembers of Shiraz,” “30 Rock,” and “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” are among her other credits.
“Beatriz at Dinner” made its world premiere at Sundance in January. The ensemble cast includes Chloë Sevigny (“Bloodline”) and Amy Landecker (“Transparent”). Directed by Miguel Arteta (“The Good Girl”), “Beatriz at Dinner” hits theaters June 9.
