Joel Alfonso Vargas’s debut feature, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), is now easy to find at home. The Dominican American Bronx story follows 19-year-old Rico, who spends the summer selling homemade “nutty” cocktails on Orchard Beach until his girlfriend, Destiny, becomes pregnant and moves in with his family.

The film premiered at Sundance in 2025, where its first-time leads, Juan Collado and Destiny Checo, shared the NEXT Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast. Oscilloscope Laboratories released it in U.S. theaters on April 17, 2026. Critics, including IndieWire’s Christian Zilko, praised its specific portrait of tight-knit Dominican life in the Bronx and its refusal to tidy the ending into a simple lesson.

For viewers who missed it in theaters, the film is available to rent or buy on Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and other digital platforms, and it can be streamed for free on Kanopy and Hoopla.

Featured source: Alejandro Rios Instagram reel.

Original reporting: Christian Zilko, IndieWire, January 31, 2025.

Photo credit: Oscilloscope Laboratories, via IndieWire.