What’s Hot at Redbox: The Nardio Review of Casa de Mi Padre
By: Jasmine Greene
Is it Worth Your Time?
Yes.
What Should I watch It On?
Casa de Mi Padre isn’t really a graphics intensive movie so it should be fine to watch it on DVD.
What Did You Think Without Spoiling It?
The very first shot of the movie pretty much establishes the entire tone of the movie. I love the fact that the movie is pretty much a parody of telenovelas as well as Mexican Westerns. It’s a fun movie that plays on different aspects of humor: prolonged laughter, “goofs”, “cheap set design” and more.
Why It Works
The movie really has you paying attention to every word and every scene because if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss it. While it wouldn’t be categorized as a smart comedy, there are plenty of laughs. The acting is played both for laughs and for serious which makes for a pretty unique experience. Probably my favorite thing about this movie is perhaps the cinematography. Yes, I know, you usually don’t say that word when it comes to comedy, but Casa de Mi Padre does a great job of capturing the perfect shot for a specific situation: A close-up shot of a blood-stained rose, the sun streaming behind Armando Alvarez when he goes into a bar to confront his brother. The overly dramatic scene setup and camera shots really amp up the parody-factor. Aside from this, Ferrell does a great job as Armando Alvarez. His Spanish is quite good and it’s hard to believe that he learned the Spanish script in a single month. Gael Garcia Bernal does a great job as the local drug lord Onza and he just seems to be having so much fun playing the part as well. Genesis Rodriguez is wonderful as Sonia, I’m sure her work in telenovelas helped her quite a bit in the role. All the other supporting characters really brought the movie together so when Ferrell fell flat, they were right there to pick up the slack.
No Like?
The Making of Casa de mi Padre was not that great. I was expecting Will Ferrell to have a little more fun with it, but there was just no spark or energy. I was hoping for extra features like in 21 Jump Street where they showed the making of and actor relations while still remaining hilarious. In fact, the Making Of was so bad, it turned me off of the other special features.
Basic Info
- $1.20 at RedBox
- Available on Blu-Ray and DVD
- Run-time: 84 minutes
- Actors: Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Nick Offerman, Genesis Rodriguez
- $11.89 for DVD, $18.95 for Blu-Ray
- Rated – R
