Director: Matt Piedmont
Starring: Will Ferrell, Genesis Rogriguez, Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal,
Running time: 86 minutes
Certificate: 15
Extras: Making Of, Pedro Armendariz Jr Interview, Deleted Scenes, Trailer, Fake TV Ad, ‘Fight For Love’ Music Video
Plot: Armando (Will Ferrell) is a simple rancher and the dumb brother of the Alvarez family. He has always been a disappointment, but when his brother Raul (Diego Luna) gets his family, fiancé and ranch in trouble though drug dealing, Armando must step up and become the hero…
It’s difficult to tell if CASA DE MI PADRE is an ode to or a mockery of the Spanish Telanovela. In the DVD’s ‘Making Of’ doc, Ferrell calls the film a mix of a Telanovela, a Mexican mafia film and a Quentin Tarantino film. This mixture – not to mention the film’s production – is different from anything that’s been done before, and deserves an ‘A’ for effort. The scenery is exquisite, the wardrobe nothing short of envious, and the film’s surprise duets and ballads catchy. The beauty of CASA DE MI PADRE is that it set out to do something new, and to have fun in the process. That much worked – entertaining the audience, however, didn’t.
The mockery of Mexican film is hit and miss, and there’s a sense that this is a ‘Making of a Mexican Film’ rather than just a straight-up Mexican film. Piedmont should have dropped the charades and spent his time telling a story instead of resorting to cheap tricks. Ferrell fans will love the film as he stands loyal to this intense delivery, and for his character Armando’s complete unawareness of his own stupidity. Also, Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal’s reunion is a welcome addition, with them playing sworn enemies (they made it clear years ago that one wouldn’t be seen without the other, though since then they’ve worked separately).
The film is – except for a few scenes with the American federal police – completely in Spanish, and surprisingly WIll Ferrelll doesn’t butcher the language; in fact, for a non-Spanish speaking person he’s sounds quite convincing. His pronunciation and delivery of lines would have the audience mistake him for an actual Mexican actor. His looks on the other hand, would not. Ferrell resorts to his George W. Bush face far too often, and the film would have had a greater comedic success had it been about Armando finding out the truth, that he is not the son of a Mexican ranch owner but instead adopted from an American suburb family. Sadly this is not the twist of the film; instead, Ferrell’s Spanish tongue masked with his american mannerisms serves partly as a downfall of the movie, but also provides with the funniest scenes of the movie as his Mexican nationality is challenged.
Whilst the film is relatively short, those 86 minutes feel a lot longer, and it becomes obvious that it’s been cut short due to lack of material. At times it turns into a musical too, and other times the actors waste time creating awkward scenes that don’t raise the chuckles they hope for. It’s as if even the filmmakers became exhausted with making the film and gave up. Perhaps Ferrell just couldn’t memorise any more lines in Spanish but for those who crave more CASA DE MI PADRE, there are a generous number of deleted scenes on the DVD, which complete the movie nicely and give a more in-depth storyline. Though often absurd, CASA DE MI PADRE remains funny, not to mention beautiful. And the sight of Will Ferrell on horseback speaking Spanish is sure to have many women swooning.
CASA DE MI PADRE is available on DVD 1st of October and can be purchased here
