Casa de mi Padre

Scheming on a way to save their father's ranch, the Alvarez brothers find themselves in a war with Mexico's most feared drug lord.

As prolific as Will Ferrell is, it can't often be said that he takes a great many chances in what he chooses to put his name to. Casa de mi Padre bucks this trend with irreverence, resulting in a surprisingly adept spoof that manages more than a few very funny moments. It's also a brave choice for Ferrell to take on a role that is entirely in Spanish. Having spent a month with a dialect coach before filming began, the outcome is occasionally patchy in terms of his delivery, but this only works in the film's favour, further enhancing the deliberately absurd nature of the production's approach.

Though he receives top billing, the film's main star is certainly not the only high profile presence here. Both Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal of Y Tu Mamá También fame are reunited and put in an appearance to great effect. Bernal in particular is impressive, throwing himself into the character and offering some of the picture's most memorable moments, his attention to detail adding to the utter ridiculousness of the scenarios of which he is a part.

The movie spares no expense in making itself look as cheap as possible. Scenes that are clearly shot on a sound stage, badly painted backdrops, poorly edited and nonsensical cuts, blatantly obvious continuity errors, mannequins as extras, it's all here. Much of the comedy comes from these aspects, rather than the characters themselves, though not entirely. The visual jokes are in large part successful and the subtitles can often provide plenty to chuckle over. The plot, too, settles into this model perfectly, packed to the brim with cliché and supplying more than enough ammunition for sending up numerous westerns in one fell swoop.

To some degree, it's unsurprising that the film hasn't received a great deal of attention outside the US. Whilst still enjoyable for those with no knowledge of Mexican tropes, it can leave you with the feeling that you're missing out on some of the jokes due to a lack of experience in this regard. Despite this, there's more than enough to make it an enjoyable flick and the highlights aren't short on universal appeal.

The Verdict:

7/10
A well constructed spoof that had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. A great cast and brilliantly cheap production values make for a short and sweet comedy that has enough to keep you coming back for more.