If its title didn’t clue you in, “Casa de mi Padre” begins with a “warning” to viewers that the movie is entirely in Spanish.
Of course, that’s the joke: A trailer that circulated before the film’s release had an announcer intone, “And introducing Will Ferrell,” in a heavy Hispanic accent, the Rs rolled with exaggerated emphasis.
This is Ferrell’s first Spanish-language film, and he’s surprisingly fluent. It might have been even funnier if he weren’t, though. Because “Casa de mi Padre” is a sendup of a genre more than it is an example of it.
| On screen |
| ‘Casa de mi Padre’ |
| 2.5 out of 4 stars |
| Stars: Will Ferrell, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna |
| Director: Matt Piedmont |
| Rated: R for bloody violence, language, some sexual content and drug use |
| Running time: 84 minutes |
Ferrell is Armando Alvarez, a good-hearted but dim naif who works on his father’s Mexican ranch. He wants to help solve the family’s financial problems. But as Dad (the late, great Pedro Armendariz Jr.) says, “Like your mother, you have never been smart.” Instead, the father looks forward to the return of Armando’s younger brother, Raul (Diego Luna).
Raul comes home with a lot of cash — and a beautiful fiancee named Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). The family’s future seems assured. But Armando discovers Raul’s made his money dishonorably — by dealing drugs — and worse, has threatened the family by returning. Because this part of Mexico belongs to the drug lord Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal). And Onza doesn’t just want the territory; he wants Raul’s woman, too. But then so does Armando. He doesn’t trust Sonia at first. But soon he sees her as his ideal mate.
The stage is set for a grand showdown — emphasis on the word “stage.” Many of the sets look fake. One establishing shot of a parking lot includes toy cars. Armando and Sonia ride side by side, but they’re clearly not on actual horses.
There are continuity errors throughout, obviously purposeful: The drinks in characters’ hands change each time the camera switches back, for example.
The dialogue isn’t any more serious. “I’m riding a horse!” Armando declares, without reason, in one scene.
It’s all very silly, certainly. I found myself only chuckling inwardly at the jokes, while the mostly Spanish-speaking audience at the preview laughed out loud. But there’s a strange sense of innocence to it all. In poking fun at some old-fashioned genres, “Casa” becomes something of a throwback itself. There are glimpses of male asses here, true. But there’s little of the gross-out comedy that’s otherwise ubiquitous these days.
Ferrell is funny, as usual, and plays off surprisingly well against Bernal and Luna, who are frequent collaborators in more than one language. The bit players — including “Napoleon Dynamite”‘s Efren Ramirez — are consistently amusing. Nick Offerman, who plays the legendary Ron Swanson on TV’s “Parks and Recreation,” is particularly good as an American DEA agent. “All this so daddy’s little girl can score a dimebag,” he says, sadly.
