'CASA DE MI PADRE'

'CASA DE MI PADRE' (R) (RENTAL)

Written by Andrew Steele
Directed by Matt Piedmont
Actors: Will Ferrell, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez, Pedro Armendariz Jr.

I have to give Will Ferrell major points for being experimental and going outside the box. There is no way "Casa De Mi Padre' will make money at the box office because it is a risky project that could have gone to HBO. Other comedic actors, namely Adam Sandler, make the same old insulting crap but Will Ferrell has done well with quirky satiric send ups and he isn't afraid to experiment with movies that are not sure fire hits. His "Anchorman" is one of my favorite comedies of the past decade. The problem with "Casa De Mi Padre" is that it is unique and brave but crippled by dull stretches.

"Casa De Mi Padre" is a send up of those "Telenovelas" on Spanish television and specifically the horse operas. The movie is totally spoken in Spanish and in subtitles and now you see one of the reasons this is a brave and risky attempt. Moviegoers looking for big Will Ferrell type laughs won't want to see a movie with subtitles. The younger audience has never seen one of these "telenovelas" and won't get the joke. The movie has a lot of sly jokes that you won't get if you don't know the source material. If you do know it well the movie has moments that are very smart and funny that pop out but too many stretches where I was bored.

The movie tells the story of Armando who is played by Ferrell. Armando is caught between a drug war between his brother Raul and another Drug Lord Onza. The drug dealers are played by Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna and it is great to see both of them cast together again. They have not done anything together since "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and I like seeing them together again and they are both good and funny. So is Will Ferrell and I love a few moments including a break in the film where real animals are replaced by stuffed ones in an attack scene. I like Ferrell's singing of a song
in Spanish fluently also. Obviously Will Ferrell was a better Spanish student than I was.

I love the perfect recreation of the look of these cheaply made shows and all the actors are up for the spirit of the movie. There is just too many jokes that miss amidst the few bright moments. Since this movie spoofs "Telenovelas" maybe this should have gone straight to HBO where Ferrell produces "Eastbound and Down". This is good to watch at home but to see it in a theatre not so much. One or two people walked out of my screening and there were only 8 of us. I am happy to say I think people walked out not because it is a bad movie, which it isn't, but because they didn't get it.

P.S. If you love Will Ferrell and will find this dissapointing you have to check out "Anchorman" again which is his best in the last decade and also pretty funny is "The Other Guys" with Mark Wahlberg.