Film Review: "Casa De Mi Padre" A Mexican film that happens to have Will Farrell in it.

When I saw an early trailer to "Casa De Mi Padre," about three months ago, I thought it was a Will Ferrell film where he will make fun of contemporary rachero/banda/narco culture. I was expecting a lot of racism and laughs at Mexican culture. I was expecting the worse. On my FB feed, a prominent scholar I look up to, posted about the film being racist based on their viewing of the trailer. They posted a scholarly article about how Hollywood makes fun of the Other's speech and builds films around that one joke. Other followers of this scholar's feed chimed in with their own thoughtful responses that also recognize this pattern in Hollywood of degrading cultures for laughs. After I saw "Casa De Mi Padre" I can say this film is not any of that. "Casa De Mi Padre" is a very Mexican film that happens to have Will Ferrel in it speaking Spanish as good as many (and better than some) Chicano/as.

The mainstream reviews mostly dissed or gave it luke warm like at best. I read one review that said it was a big inside joke that they didn't get. Well in a way it is a big inside joke.

To really understand the nuances and enjoy "Casa De Mi Padre" you need to have grown up having seen some 1970's Vicente Fernandez films and know the acting style and typical story lines of Mexican novelas. In other words, if you grew up with telenovelas and Mexican films playing in the background at your parents or anyone in your family homes then, this film will be chingon!

You will remember/recognize: the hats, fancy suits and boots, cheesy sets with fake rocks, mustaches, thick sideburns, slow but loyal side kicks, rasquache especial effects, bad editing, stiff or over the top acting, beautiful women and of course the cold machos and the sensitive machos. And if you enjoy Mexican retro disco chic, ala Mas Exitos , then you will love the soundtrack. Check this, there is a cameo by El Puma, for chrissakes!!! El Puma guey!


Let's get this out of the way, Will Ferrell's Spanish is almost as good as Erik Estrada's when he was on "Dos Caminos, Una Mujer."



Mexican legend Pedro Armendariz, new starlet Genesis Rodriguez (El Puma's real life daughter), and Mexi-Mega international film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna lead the Mexican majority cast. Everyone plays it straight, so it is part homage, part satire. One witty scene gets socio-poli-critical and calls out America's drug addiction and reliance on Mexican suppliers. The seriousness of the massacres and violence of the Mexican drug wars needs to be addressed and comedy seems to be one way that hasn't gotten anyone killed.

"Casa de Mi Padre" is a pretty funny film in general. When I first saw it I immediately thought of "Austin Powers" and how that spoofed 70's spy films. If you did not grow up watching those films you may not have gotten ALL the jokes, but it was still funny.

I also thought of other films that I have recently viewed that have come out of Mexico that are taking on current issues and putting comedic twists. "Saving Private Perez." is a spoof of gangster films, in a Mexican narco context -where the money and power allows for a mission to Iraq to find a kidnapped brother. This is a funny film as well, but with the reality of violence and death in Mexico due to drug wars, cheering for a narco as a hero was a little weird.


Might be a trend?

I've always imagined writing a Western with strong Mexican or Chicano male characters in the vein of The Wild Bunch, or any of Clint Eastwood's westerns. A majority of Westerns are informed by the years surrounding the Civil War. There are also many stories that need to be told surrounding the Mexican-American War or Manifest Destiny on the West Coast. How did Mexicans, Natives, Mestizos, Mulattos, Blacks and Asians cope with the transition from being part of Mexico to being part of the US, the Gold Rush, violence and racism? What were those encounters like? The trickle of Hollywood films with Latino majority casts and relevant story lines has not improved much. Films such as the above serve a purpose. Think about the impact that Chalino Sanchez had on Chicano youth in South Central Los Angeles.

Sam Quinones wrote in his book "True Tales From Another Mexico" an essay on how Chalino Sanchez gave Chicano youth a strong role model that was street (and rancho) tough, carried a gun, had a distinct fashion, attitude and street power. Up until Chalino, Chicanos in South Central LA had black rappers as the only male figure they see daily on their streets and in the media. Many Chicanos in South Central adopted Black South Central LA hip hop culture to the point that they were known in the vernacular as Blackxicans. When Chalino offered another male figure with street power Chicanos flocked to him to reclaim their Mexican-ness and now have a male figure, for better or for worse, that they can see on their streets and in the media.

"Casa de Mi Padre" with its SNL and Mexican lineage has hit a mark that I hope will continue to provide relevant stories with talented Mexican/Chicano actors in the lead roles who offer something more than the typical, yet familiar to many. Mexicans in media are usually portrayed as immigrants from ranchos, what media ignores is the generations of Chicanos living in the US and the many Mexicans that migrated from Mexico's large urban cities. There are big differences between the Rancheros and the Mexican urbanites. Maybe that could be another film. For now go see "Casa de Mi Padre."

Capitalism: A Love Story

The new Michael Moore film Capitalism: A Love Story. playing in two LA area theaters the Landmark & Arclight in Hollywood, is just what we need at this time when none of us really know where we are headed as workers, a nation and globe.

Moore outlines how evil capitalism is by having thinkers explain its faults, morality (of lack of), and its unsustainability, while also featuring people getting kicked out of the home, people squatting in their home, the "bottom feeders" that are making money off the sad state of foreclosures and the successful strike by door and window factory workers in Chicago. He takes us down the path of 'derivatives' which Wall St. invented to make themselves even richer, yet no one can really explain what they are. The saddest evils of capitalistic greed involved major corps taking out life insurance policies on their workers and how one judge and private youth prison herded youth into prison for profits.

You don't have to tell me how crazy and immoral people can get in the pursuit of money, but Moore's film is necessary today as much as his other films which poke at our issues just before they reach even Joe the Plumber and his ilk. I highly recommend you go see this film. You may know some if not all of the issues and questions raised but nonetheless we need to have these conversations with all of us and this film is perfect for launching into these topics.

mini movie reviews: District 9 & Inglorious Basterds

D9 shows the epitome of neo-colonialism and its different shades and possibilities. True racism, humans v non human, shows how bad humans can be to other races. Stylistically follows the "Cloverfield" verite flavor that many don't like, get or feel sick after watching. It works here for immediacy and tension.

IB is QTs play with languages and counter narratives. QT stages several high tension scenes with the usual brilliant camera work scanning great actors at play. It does just feel like it is all a game to all which only adds to our collective numbing in the face of violence. Beautiful, rich and satisfying. Like the strudel they eat in one scene, we need to wait for the cream, and QT delivers

Go see them my friend

"A Future with a Past, if we are Connected and Fight"

Finally saw SLEEP DEALER and it was all that and a Jumbo Jack.

I got to see the first prototype of this film in 1996 when it was called "Animaquiladora" where the term "Cyberbracero," was coined by Alex Rivera and Lalo Lopez. Rivera was a cool guy with sci fi dreams, just like me! We never connected even though we know the same people, nonetheless I always would hear how he was always one step closer to making his dream film come true. It was well worth the wait. Thanks for not giving up.

For those who have not gone to see it, expect to see a not too distant future where corporations have developed technology to outsource manual labor. Imagine being wired up in a warehouse in Mexico, and able to drive a cab in London. Si se unfortunately Puede, in the near future. The lead protagonist walks us through this world, and along the way meets a beautiful woman who makes her money selling her memories online. Kind of like blogs but more intense.

I don't want to give too much away, just watch the trailer below, I'll just say there is a great story and visuals to trip your mind. I feel it has a very 1970's sci fi vibe like "Soylent Green" or "Omega Man." It is not flashy nor slashy, it's more of a thinking man's sci fi.

I hope that Rivera takes this into other platforms like webisodes, animation, manga or even photo novela. The world he presents is rich and full of so many possibilities to comment on our current state that it would be a waste to just leave that SLEEP DEALER world with just one chapter. He already has the cool website about Cyberbracero that I linked above. Very much like the Hanso Foundation website that works with thee TV show LOST. I hope he gets a TV series, or more films. It is that rich. Now go see it!!!

Rourke and Eastwood

Last night after G Lo and part of So. Park I switched over and caught Mickey Rourke on Jimmy Kimmel and I found myself smiling throughout the whole interview. I grew up with Mickey Rourke. One of my first girlfriends brought over a video and said we need to watch this. It was "9 1/2 Weeks" and for the next few girlfriends after that one it was required viewing. Then came "Angel Heart" and "Barfly." I then looked back at his earlier work and saw how this bad ass developed. "The Wrestler" his latest film is lyrical.

Rourke is in top physical form for a man who lived the wild life he did and is well into his 50s. He plays a pro-wrestler, 20 years past his prime. He lives in a trailer, works in an ACME market, uses a hearing aid, and puts on wrestling shows at Veterans of Foreign Wars halls. On his days off he lusts after a stripper played by the incredibly fine Marisa Tomei. After a particularly bloody and violent match, he has a heart attack which makes him see his mortality and forces him to reach out to his estranged daughter, who is rightfully very angry with daddy.

The film begins by shooting Rourke's character Randy 'The Ram' Robinson from an over the shoulder shot, giving it an almost documentary feel. The trick is used throughout the film to keep us at arms length from this caricature of man. Before we know it the film eases into a full on family drama / love story with Rourke as our flawless guide. The Ram can be a bit of 'tard but it is part of his charm as well as his weakness. All along the feelings that The Ram has to change, he deserves better, he has paid for his mistakes, he needs to be forgiven, he needs real love now are presented to us. We don't know his fate. He could just as easily walk off into the sunset with his daughter and stripper girlfriend, than crash his van and die while driving to one last wrestling match. We are cheering for him but know life is not always easy. Every dog has his day, and this dog had his days.

Rourke is doing the media rounds now that he won a Golden Globe, and I really hope he wins the Oscar. He is the type of movie star that are fewer these days. He has real talent, not just box office draw.


A week before I saw "The Wrestler" I saw a somewhat similar movie that is just as good "Gran Torino." Directed and starring another true movie star Clint Eastwood, "Gran Torino" is a slice of old Hollywood. I don't think I need to state how much I like Eastwood's Westerns and his directing. I believe I've mentioned his works here before.

When we hear Eastwood's character spew out his racial slurs, you don't know if its cute because he is an old man whose generation will all soon be gone or if its just plain ole angry white man crap. These other blog reviews say pretty much what I feel and you should check them out for a summary of what the film is about if you don't. I want focus on how Eastwood's film is similar to "The Wrestler."

Both films show the end of a man's life and the end of an era. The world changes and for the characters in both films the present and future looks like alien territory. When The Ram says "The 90's sucked" and when Eastwood realizes he has more in common with Hmong immigrants, with their old school ways, than with his own kids, both men signal that they are done living and are only surviving. They don't understand the new. They know they need to reinvent themselves but don't know how, or won't be allowed to change, or lack the energy to change. Much like in The Atlantic's "The End of White America?" by Hua Hsu (reviewed below) these white men are stuck in a moment where they are not on top and none of us know what will happen with them.

The flawed heroes of both films are only flawed because of the times we are living in. In an earlier era they would be seen just as heroes living out the last days of glorious lives. Today with our PC eyes and ears, we can see how change is good and that being a dick gets you nowhere fast.

I loved both films and plan on watching them both again and maybe again and again. They are good stories, full of rich characters, good acting and make me think that there is hope for us all. We can all change, we can break cycles within ourselves, even if we can't change the world and we can go out balls to the wall and do some good for the fans or just our neighbors. I don't want to spoil either film, so if you get it good. If not go see them.

Che movie review

I went to see the new Soderbergh "Che" movie at the Nuart, all 5 hours of it with a 20 minute intermission. It is two films, part one is about Che meeting Castro and the fight for Cuba for los Cubanos and part two is about Che attempting to assist rallying peeps in Bolivia to make Bolivia for Bolivians.
The pacing of the film might lose some peeps unfamiliar with the history as it jumps from pre revolution, to fighting in the mountains, to Che's NYC visit to the U.N. Aside from some corny cameos from Lou Diamond Philips and Matt Damon, the film runs with a smooth intensity equal to Guevara's speeches. Actually LDP fits his role very well as an all talk wishy washy communist leader that double crosses. Damon has a quick scene as a German priest. Ofcourse this is Del Toro's show and he keeps all eyes on him, except when Demian Bichir's Castro is in the scene or nearby, but that is how it seems it was. Castro was the MAN, the leader, etc. and so when he came around he was the center. Soderbergh helps you feel the stress, dissapointment, achievement, pride, loss and gains, pain and stench of living a revolutionary life in the mountains trying to get peasants on your side of a fight that they know is for their own good, but may be either too afraid to join or have no other choice but to join. Each scene says something, no shot is taken without having a tale to tell. The film moves and breathes as the life of Che, with beauty, class, asthma attacks, patience, detail, a faith in mankind and ofcourse love. When the two films come out later this year (very soon), part one will definately be welcomed as it has the Hollywood ending of liberating Cuba for Cubanos, the second film will be a hard sell since it seems obvious from the start that the Bolivians were not ready to fight and we all know Che will die in the end. I recommend you go see the two parts together while you still can.