Skip to main content

"Casa de mi Padre"

So I just watched the Will Ferrell film "Casa de mi Padre" last night. The reviews for the film were very mixed, as 44% of critics scored it positively, meanwhile 56% did not (courtesy of RottenTomatoes.com). When I looked for layperson reactions on IMDb.com, most seemed to feel the film was atrocious.

I don't know if it was because I was especially tired and in an extra silly mood or what exactly, but I thought the film was pretty funny - especially the last half hour. I'm wondering if a lot of laypeople aren't getting the joke. The film appears to be a parody of telenovelas or as Americans call them - Spanish soap operas. From the over-dramatic music to the over-dramatic facial expressions to the over-dramatic zoom-ins to the over-dramatic acting, I can't see the film as anything else but a parody of telenovelas and keeping that in mind while viewing the film, I thought it was quite entertaining. I can understand if a person views the film not understanding that it's a parody, how they'd think it was the worst piece of garbage they'd ever seen. However, I fortunately caught on very early to the joke being expressed throughout the film and had quite a number of chuckles along the way.

I'm not saying it's the best comedy in history or that it should win awards - not in the least. However, I also don't understand why so many people trashed it as they did - especially the laypeople. Critics weren't nearly as hyperbolic in their language. I can't tell you how many times I stumbled across posts from members of IMDb.com where the author said such things as, "It's the worst movie ever!" or "It's the worst piece of trash Ferrell has ever starred in and that's saying something!" If you want to check out a very different kind of contemporary comedy and keep in mind it's making fun of "Spanish soap operas," I think you should give this film a gander. I wasn't expecting much and was quite pleasantly surprised by the end credits and I have a hunch others will too, well, so long as they know what the film is parodying. If they don't, well, they'll be more lost than a blind man driving through downtown Chicago.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Another look at "The Nightly Show" with Larry Wilmore

After its first week, I gave The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore a B+ grade. While I didn't think the show appeared to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I also liked the Daily Show  meets Politically Incorrect vibe I got from it, and thought, with the proper adjustments, the show would indeed provide a great fill-in for The Colbert Report . In the show's succeeding weeks, however, I've been less impressed by it and think that if it doesn't make certain adjustments, it could be in jeopardy of losing many long-time viewers of the show's time slot. One major issue I think the show's had to this point is a lack of direction. It's been unable to decide whether it wants to be a comedy show with serious conversation sprinkled in or a serious show with comedy sprinkled in. It's almost as if the show's writers want to give The Nightly Show a Real Time with Bill Maher feel. The problem with that idea or format is the fact Real Time is an hour lon...

My first book review of "Penetrating the Heart of Life: Ambiguous In Thought, Ambivalent In Feeling"

Well, I received my first book review on this poetry-compilation book I completed and published late last year, but have finally gotten around to marketing now. The reviewer gave it 5 out of 5 stars and said: "I enjoyed the poetic journey the writer has taken me on. From darkest days and hopeful optimism to the conclusion of hope realized. The visual images that the poem titled "Room Temperature" elicits, made me think of the song, "Horse With No Name" sung by the band America. In a similar manner, another poem – "Deafening Sigh-lence" reminded me a great deal of Simon & Garfunkel’s song, "The Sound of Silence". There are so many poems in this book that I related to, that I felt a connection to the author and felt that we were traveling on this journey together." http://www.lulu.com/shop/craig-rozniecki/penetrating-the-heart-of-life-ambiguous-in-thought-ambivalent-in-feeling/paperback/product-18677501.html

A closer look at the Scramble With Friends power-ups

I am unashamed to admit that I'm a nerd. My idea of a good time is playing a word game like Boggle or Scrabble. Thankfully, I (and many others) can play such games via Facebook and/or my (our) cell phone(s). While it seems that cheating has become more commonplace in these games (Words With Friends in particular) than San Diego has had nice weather, I've yet to give in to that craze. One element present with the game Scramble With Friends (Boggle) not present in Words With Friends (Scrabble) are legal boosts called "power-ups," which cost a number of tokens from the 15 available. I've now tried all five power-ups, including the latest one which costs money. So, in case anyone's curious about playing the game or giving these power-ups a gander, here's a rundown of them all: Freeze - I think this is probably my favorite of all the power-ups. With the freeze, time stands still for a matter of seconds, which allows you more time to find words and improve...