The boys are back.
“Y Tu Mama Tambien” hermanos Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal have returned for another engrossing Spanish language dramedy directed by a guy with the last name of Cuaron. (This time it’s Carlos, Alfonso’s brother, who co-wrote “Y Tu Mama Tambien” and Alfonso’s first feature, the Criterion-approved screwball comedy, “Solo con tu pareja”) It’s the first movie produced by the “Three Amigos” – Alfonso Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro, and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (under their production company Cha Cha Cha Produciones).
And it is awesome. The movie starts out with some lingering, Malick-ian shots of Mexico, with some philosophical narration by Guillermo Francella. We’re then introduced to Luna and Bernal who work as banana farmers in a provincial Mexican town. We meet their family, see their respective lifestyles and then, almost as an aside, we watch them on their way to play soccer futbol. Francella, driving a fancy sports car, gets a flat tire and happens to watch the boys play.
(We never, ever see them play soccer futbol, which is kind of amazing. If you’re looking for a gorgeous, slow motion soccer futbol match, stick with that wonderful scene from Almodovar’s “Bad Education”).
Francella is impressed by what he sees, whisking Bernal away to the big city, while Luna stays and picks bananas and gambles his wife’s appliances away. Soon, Bernal’s star rises – he starts dating a sexy television personality, gets terrible highlights and shoots a hilarious music video (his real dream is to become a pop star, see a related clip of a Cheap Trick here). Bernal also requests that Francella recruit Luna for the professional league.
Once they both become professional soccer players (on opposing teams), that’s when things get really complicated. And while the film does hit on tried-and-true clichés of the genre (both the farm boy-goes-to-the-big city stuff and sports movie stuff), there’s a singular commitment to character development and an inherent truth in what’s being said on screen, no matter how phony the situation.
At times it seems even more funny, sad, and weird than “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” and certainly more enjoyable. The movie looks gorgeous (and, no, we’re not just talking about the smokin’ gorgeous Jessica Mas), the music is great (Leoncio Lara’s accordion-heavy score makes it seem like a south of the border “Amelie,” here deets on the double disc version of the soundtrack), and es simply muy divertido. The only downside is the characterization of one of the female characters, which just feels lazy, amplified even more by the general excellence of all the other character work.
Still, can’t take much away from a film this accomplished. [B+]
“Rudo Y Cursi,” hits theaters in limited release on May 8, via Sony Pictures Classics. Here’s the trailer if you haven’t seen it already. – Drew Taylor
