I can't believe the latest film from Will Ferrell has gone straight to DVD, yet there we were renting it out the weekend it hit the shops. And it's an absolute cracker, although it won't be to everyone's taste.
Firstly a warning. This film is set in Mexico and is spoken entirely in Spanish with English subtitles bar a few lines from an American actor. So if you don't like subtitles, this may be the film to win you over! Apparently Will Ferrell learned his lines phonetically, since he doesn't speak Spanish.
Secondly another warning. This film is a parody of Mexican 'telenovellas' - a film genre which combines high soap opera and dramatic, sweeping storylines with poor production values and usually plays straight to TV. I am no expert but I'm taking it from Will Ferrell who had the idea after seeing a few of these movies. As a parody of this genre, the movie also combines high soap opera and poor production values, but it is deliberate.
Will Ferrell plays Armando Alvarez, a simple guy who works on his father's ranch raising cattle and riding horses, and looking for love on the wind. Trouble is afoot as the local drug cartel leader, The Onza (played in a hilariously camp manner by Gael Garcia Bernal), is making life difficult for the Alvarez family, using their ranch to execute his enemies. The family business is in trouble, so home comes little brother Raul (Diego Luna) to save the day. Raul is a big business man in the city, and brings his new woman Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez) with the news they are engaged. But more trouble arises on two fronts: Armando senses that Sonia is not who she says she is and may not love his brother like she should, and Raul has gotten mixed up in drug dealing himself so The Onza is feeling threatened.
This setup leads to some of the most hilariously over the top discussions, fights, love scenes and shootouts as the drama escalates. It's kind of like watching a spoof of a Quentin Tarantino movie crossed with the Bold and the Beautiful. It's quite violent in places and then just absurd in others (Armando's white lion guided trip while unconscious after a 'real' lion attack is so meta).
Will Ferrell, I commend you on bringing this film genre to our attention and learning Spanish in order to convincingly play the part of Armando. A top notch supporting cast who do speak Spanish certainly helps though, and it seems everyone was really in on the joke (check out the Making Of feature on the DVD).
This movie is so much fun and you will have to make sure you have the pause and rewind buttons handy. Since we knew what we were getting into, we were ready and had a great time playing 'spot the deliberately bad production values' and sharing them with each other. As an example to get you going, there is a scene where a hot senorita housemaid is bringing a tray of drinks to the family in the study, but when the shot shifts to brother Raul, the arm handing him the tray is clearly that of a large hairy man. The drink then changes from one cocktail to another as the family discussion continues. Also keep any eye on the backgrounds to any outdoor shots, and also the background players in the dinner scene celebrating Raul and Sonia's engagement. Some of these jokes are easy to miss so make sure you don't watch this one alone!
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