REVIEW: Casa de Mi Padre

The movie opens with a narrator telling the audience both that the film is in Spanish and to deal with it. Will Ferrell is Armando Alvarez. He is a failure in life and tries to live one with nature. His father loves his brother Raul Alvarez(Diego Luna) more than Armando, despite Raul's secret identity as a drug dealer. However the same cannot be said for Raul's fiancee, Sonia (Génesis Rodríguez). She is uncertain on whether or not Raul is right for her, especially after meeting Armando. If while reading you thought the plot sounded like a soap opera or a TV novella, then you are absolutely correct.

Casa de Mi Padre's plot is rather not important. Essentially it is a compilation of short skits that are held together by the same loose plot I mentioned before. Elements that range from Ferrell speaking the entire film in Spanish, to talking jaguars, constantly try to keep the film funny and entertaining. To be honest for the most part the bits work.

The film pays homage to 70's Spanish Western titles. It feels like the film could be shown as a potential opener to Tarantino's Grindhouse films. There are missing reels, horrendous effects, and even a moment when a special effects shot is interrupted by a long message from the 2nd Assistant Director. The message scrolls down the screen apologizing for the "greatest sequence ever shot" being "lost". Will Ferrell is the films star and most likely the only reason why you are watching the film. However it is easy to spot that gone is Ferrells great ability to improvise. As he stated countless times in numerous interviews he could not improv because he was more focused on saying his Spanish properly then anything else. Ferrells spanish gimmick does not work throughout the entire film because after the first few scenes it fades quickly and ultimately becomes a distraction.

My favorite bit in the entire movie happens late in the film. The shot is a classic move in most action films. It is a dolly in on the evil character that shows the audience how ruthless the character is or has become. However this film gets it "wrong". Normally when you move the camera close to someones face who is wearing glasses you do your best to avoid any possible reflections to avoid spotting crew members. The members of the crew purposely avoided this and so when the dolly occurs it reveals the entire set in the actor's glasses. Other memorable things to look out for in the film are frequent mannequins that are used as stand ins for actors, band members who do not actually play their instruments at all(the drummer does not even hit his snare), and during the massacre scene people who are supposed to be dead miraculously start moving.

Overall the film will make you laugh if you are familiar with the films it is paying "homage" to. But even at 84 minutes the film feels too long. This would have worked as a one hour soap opera special. All in all hats off to Will Ferrell for trying something as daring like this.

2.5/4 Muffins