DVD review: “Rudo y Cursi”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Rudo y Cursi”
Imagine “Cinderella Man” devoid of the powerhouse punches, “Caddyshack” without the golf clubs swinging as hard as the jokes and “Field of Dreams” minus the elegant old-fashioned baseball moments.
With “Rudo y Cursi,” writer-director Carlos Cuaron tries to make a soccer dramedy with no on-field action until late in the second half. This oddball artistic choice, along with his overdependence on tired sports movie formulas and predictable rags-to-riches themes, makes the Mexican film a losing game, despite its compelling characters and promising performances.
“Rudo y Cursi” marks the feature film debut for Cuaron, brother of fellow filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), who produces along with Guillermo del Toro (“Hellboy”). All these Oscar nominees could and should do better than this lackluster tale of soccer and sibling rivalry.
Set in a tiny tropical Mexican town, the Spanish-language film follows feuding half-brothers Beto (Diego Luna), a strident supervisor at the local plantain plantation, and Tato (Gael García Bernal), a plantain picker with deluded dreams of becoming a music star.
When a talent scout called Baton (Guillermo Francella) spots them playing soccer, he says both have big-league talent, but he will only help one at a time turn pro. Skillful forward Tato sails a penalty kick past Beto’s usually impenetrable goalkeeping and heads off to Mexico City.
That’s the only soccer scene until about the final 20 minutes of the film, but we hear that Tato quickly becomes a star, earning the nickname Cursi (or Corny) because of his flamboyant victory dances. Beto nurses his bitterness until Baton finds him a team, then Beto becomes known as Rudo (or Tough) because of his hard-nosed style.
Both get sidetracked by the usual sudden-fame vices — Tato gets caught up with the wrong woman in a party lifestyle, while Beto’s gambling habit spins out of control — leading up to a dramatic championship game with the brothers on opposite teams.
Cuaron deserves props for the thrilling conclusion, which avoids the obvious, all-too-neat endings, but “Rudo y Cursi” isn’t much of a ballgame until the final moments.
DVD features: Making-of featurette, deleted scenes, music videos and commentary.
— BAM
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