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Will Ferrell Sings, Rides, Says Hola In Casa de Mi Padre

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by Caryn James
March 16, 2012 8:26 AM
1 Comment
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Over time I’ve come to recognize my reaction to Will Ferrell comedies – they’re funny on first viewing, though not relentlessly laugh-til-you-cry hilarious. But on second or third viewing their cleverness kicks in even more, scene-for-scene, and their humor seems to grow. (That’s especially true of the praying to the Baby Jesus scene in Talladega Nights.) So while there is plenty to laugh at in Casa de Mi Padre, his Spanish-language spoof of bad old Western movies, I suspect its many moving parts will seem even more comic over time.

Ferrell plays Armando Alvarez, another good-hearted, not-too-bright guy, this time the son of a Mexican rancher. Armando’s conspicuously drug-dealing brother, Raul, is played by Diego Luna, and the drug lord competing with him, called La Onza, by Gael Garcia Bernal, both perfectly in synch with the film’s play-it-straight manner. But what really makes the movie work are its intentionally bad touches: the continuity problems, when a glass of champagne in one shot morphs into an umbrella drink in the next; the scene in which Armando and his brother’s beautiful girlfriend (Genesis Rodriquez)  go horseback riding and we see only the tops of the plastic horses’ heads bobbing up and down; the product placement that has Bernal’s character smoking out of both sides of his mouth, two of the sponsor’s cigarettes at once. Casa de Mi Padre is like a looser, goofier version of a Christopher Guest film.

Here’s how loose and goofy the movie is. Raul cruelly taunts his brother, “Mexico is no place for cowards!” And that remark is followed by a song, as Armando and his ranch hand friends sit around the campfire. Here it is:

Directed by former SNL writer Matt Piedmont, Casa di Mi Padre is a subtitled film that is fun even for people who don’t usually like subtitles. That may be its ultimate tongue-in-cheek movie joke. (If you missed his interview with Jimmy Kimmel, entirely in mangled Spanish, click here to watch.)

Reviews
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More: Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Will Ferrell, Casa De Mi Padre, Matt Piedmont, Genesis Rodriguez, Andrew Steel, Talladega Nights

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1 Comment

  • moses | March 17, 2012 10:22 AMReply

    M N FILMS AFRICA

    mosessozi@yahoo.com

    Tel: +256774012779

    Dear sir / Madam

    Am called Ssozi Moses from an African country called Uganda, am film director, actor, editor, story maker etc, So far I have directed five films which is on market now and acted in them as film a star,and others just as a actor, I was on the net searching for friends who deals in films and wanted to get more ideas and of course I want to start a school in Uganda for film making ,

    And because Uganda is good country and many youth and older people wants acting in film but they just need education and help to produce good film and my self want to put my country on the map by acting films and showing things happening in my country.

    These films we made are still in our local language which is luganda and soon will start using international language,

    I will be happy if u put my points into consideration thanks

    NB my film clips are in on face book and YouTube,

    These are the titles of my films

    SIDE DISH

    THE CAMERA MAN

    11thJULY

    HARD KILLER

    ABAFRERE B’EKIBUGA (CITY CONMEN)





    M N FILMS AFRICA

    +256774012779

    mosessozi@yahoo.com

    Kampala Uganda

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