¡Para! O mi mamá dispara

I had to give this movie a 6 out of 10.

The story was corny, the plot was predictable. The supporting cast was lacking. This is not a thriller or an intelligent movie. It is a B comedy., at best.

But the interaction between Stallone and Getty was fantastic. They play their roles to perfection as anyone from the Northern New Jersey area can attest. They were believable. They were hysterical.

I would watch this again, just to watch Stallone and Getty play the mom and son role so true to life. They made us cringe. We really felt for Stallone as the son. They made us laugh non stop.

She is ...fabulous. And her chemistry with Stallone works in splendid way. A comedy in which the actors are more, more importants than the story. Not only because the plot is, in essence, a skinny sketch, but because each performance gives the great perspective about familiar aspects. A film about motherhood and a beautiful proof for the high skills of Sylvester Stallone for comedy. One of films who you adore. Scene by scene. Crazy, touching, seductive, lovely. And the fine occasion for Estelle Geetty to use her large experience in the roles of mother for a memorable comedy, having, fortunatelly, the ideal partner.

This movie is fun to watch with the kids. Stallone CAN do comedy - we liked OSCAR, too. If you've never had an Italian "mama" you might miss some of the humor!

Sylvester Stallone is an iconic action star and Estelle Getty was a hilarious, sarcastic and witty Golden Girl. Put the two together and you'll get yourself one charming action-comedy, where tough Los Angeles cop Sgt. Joe Bomowski (Stallone) gets a visit from his nurturing, feisty and fearless mother Tutti (Getty), who beings to meddle in Joe's life affairs, interfering with his police work and love life.

There are some very oddball and corny humor with some campy dialog in the movie, at mostly the expense of Stallone and Getty. The supporting actors were given the back burner and the villains were forgettable. And yet, while the plot goes at a very steady-pace with limited action, I've found the comedic chemistry between Stallone and Getty, which make up most of the movie, to be pretty entertaining and fun to watch and is, at times, heartwarming. Getty's obsessive behavior to be very baby-nurturing to Stallone as he responds in his frustrated way is itself classic. And, it's not everyday you see a petite, motherly, 68 year-old lady brandish a gun and deal with gangsters!

While not an action flick that would blow you out of your seats, you will get several laughs out of this movie.

Grade B-

Alright, I recognize that this movie is not good and has several problems. However, it was the product of a time when nonsensical parodies were in vogue. I remember that the "Police Academy" franchise was one of the successes of that years, having continued to have acceptance on TV throughout the 90s. It is a familiar and educated comedy that tries to have fun without slang or dirty jokes, that has been more popular with young people nowadays. Despite the film's problems and flaws, which are undeniable, perhaps the way we look at humor and what makes us laugh also helped to bury this film in the oblivion.

The screenplay is based on Joe, a tough, independent detective's complicated relationship with his elderly mother, Tutti, who came to visit despite his unwillingness to do so, and who intrudes heavily on her son's personal and love life, subjecting him to deeply embarrassing situations, such as showing everyone photographs of his childhood and picaresque stories that he preferred to keep to himself. The film shows us how that mother is truly in love with her son, and she stubbornly resists acknowledging that she no longer has to take care of him like she used to. It also reveals how, deep down, he likes his mother, caring about her and accepting her help when he sees that she is right in what she says. For many people, the movie is pure nonsense, but the truth is that I know many mothers like that, for whom their children never grow up, and who like to have an active role in their lives, even if that's not what they want.

The movie is funny, in a polite and moderate way. He's not flashy and knows how to parody the cop action movies that were successful in the 80's. Despite this, he has a far-fetched story involving a situation of insurance fraud and arms trafficking, villains that never deserve our respect nor threaten, cliché characters loaded with almost every possible stereotype and a total lack of direction.

The cast is weak and doesn't get decent material. The spotlight naturally turns to an excellent performance by Estelle Getty, who achieves the most popular performance of her career in this film. The most resounding name, however, is Sylvester Stallone, who offers us a work that almost satirizes some of the action works that made him popular. The actor would later admit that he considers this film the worst he has starred in, and I can see why: there are many bad scenes, and some of them are particularly worthy of regret (the diaper scene, I confess, was something I would refuse). Nevertheless, and despite being far from his usual record, Stallone guarantees an impacting and charismatic presence.

The film has heavily dated cinematography that reeks of the 80s, with washed out colors and low contrast, but I think that's part of the nature of the film, which can't go against what was in use when it was conceived. There are a lot of action scenes, highly predictable but well done, where the special effects work reasonably well. The rhythm is very good, it doesn't get into tiring melodramas nor does it really tire us.