Review of Casa de Mi Padre (2012) by Jesse O — 17 Jul 2012

I'd say this movie falls into the same mold that Zoolander fell into. A movie so aware of its ridiculous absurdity that I couldn't help but enjoy it. While the 3 star rating isn't mind-blowing I had a lot of fun watching this movie.

Say what you will about Will Ferrell but at least he's willing to try different things as a comedic actor. And he's definitely willing to submit to anything if he thinks it will lead to a funnier movie.

Self-deprecation included. He's at least someone who's dedicated to his job and this film is no different. But yea this movie is definitely not going to be for everybody, though it would appeal most to exploitation film fans.

I don't think it goes quite as over-the-top as it should've, but it still is a absurdist comedy done very solidly. The rest of the movie is rounded out by a committed cast, including a pretty hilarious turn by Gael Garcia Bernal as the film's villain.

He was actually the most surprising of all, not that the rest of the cast were any slouches by any stretch of the imagination. Genesis Rodriguez is also pretty overly dramatic in her role, which is exactly what she needed to be so she did a great job.

A movie like this is definitely risky, despite the budget, because you want to find a good balance between satire and completely insulting an entire "culture" and labeling all telenovelas as shit, and thankfully the movie never feels like it's looking down on the medium or the people that like it, just making fun of its sillier aspects.

Unfortunately though the movie is never as funny as it should've been but it definitely starting to pick up near the end. But I still had a lot of fun watching, it isn't perfect but it's definitely a more than solid Redbox rental.