Rudo y Cursi, which played at the Fargo Theatre’s Off Broadway theater

Posted By Fargo Reviews ~ 13th August 2009

Rudo y Cursi, which played at the Fargo Theatre’s Off Broadway theater last week, is a Mexican film in Spanish which follows a film from seven years ago, Y Tu Mama Ta Bien, which I saw then.  Y Tu is about three spoiled, rich, Mexican teenagers and their adventures.  I didn’t particularly like that film, so I don’t really know why I saw Rudo y Cursi, which is about two of these teenagers, now grown up. sort of, and are managing a banana plantation in rural Mexico.  They also play soccer for the local team(I think every village in Mexico has a soccer team).  They are discovered by an apparent talent scout,  Batuta, played convincingly by Guilermo Francella, who claims he can get one but not both into the professional Mexican soccer leagues.

I won’t say much more about the story except to mention that they both wind up under Butata’s wing.  The players are Beto(Rudo, which means tough), played by Diego Luna, and Tato(Cursi, which means “corny”), played by Gael Garcia Bernal.  The movie was directed by Carlos Cuaron.

I would call the genre of this movie as “dark comedy.”  It isn’t about soccer, really: there’s very little soccer action.  It’s more about the difficulties of being young and famous, just like our major league athletes, except it’s in Mexico, where things are corrupt from the get go.

The town from which the two players(they’re half brothers) is poor, and I adored the depiction of the town and the brothers family lives.  There were many small roles that I felt deserved citations.  In particular, I liked Batuta as well.

The story is complex, just as life is for young adults, Mexican or not.  Needless to say, the two brothers do not attain and keep the Mexican dream.  Their lives are full of ups, downs, curves, and of course, corruption.

If you like semi-serious coming of age stories for somewhat young adults, Rudo y Cursi is a can’t miss.  On the other hand, if you need chase scenes, violence or serious literature, this isn’t it.

Acting:  B+
Storyline:  B+
Casting:  A
Subtitles:  B-
Necessity to suspend disbelief:  None, if you’ve ever been in or near the third world.
Sets:  A