La mexicana

Take "All About Steve" (cute dysfunctional romcom), toss in "3 Days in the Valley" (gritty crime drama), a little bit of "Silver Streak" (roadcom) and a hint of "Deathtrap" or possibly "Fargo" (dark comedy), then whip them all mercilessly with an eggbeater until it's unrecognizable, bake at 425 degrees for 2 hrs 3 mins, and there you have "The Mexican".

If you enjoyed all the films I mentioned above, you'll like this. It's polished, as any Hollywood flick with Brad Pitt & Julia Roberts would be, but it's quirky and odd enough to set itself apart from the others. The story is about a lovable loser (Brad Pitt) and his crazy therapy-inducing girlfriend (Julia Roberts) who end up trapped in a bloody battle to get a cursed gun known as "The Mexican". The plot has plenty of twists & turns to keep you entertained on the surface. But the real story is about unlikely relationships: not just Brad & Julia's bipolar romance but also unlikely friendships & loyalties that spring up between kidnappers & kidnappees, assassins & victims, American profiteers & Mexican defenders... like a good Clint Eastwood movie ("The Unforgiven", "Gran Turino"), the point is that it's easy to apply labels, but how often do you get a good look at what's underneath?

I mentioned that this is a dark comedy, and indeed there are about half a dozen killings. What makes it different from, say Pulp Fiction or Heathers, is that the film doesn't gloss over the deaths with comedic gags. That's where this film is unusual... It has a place for comedy, and it has a place for tragedy. It doesn't really mix the two. Thus you may find your emotions wrenched around a bit, and that may be disorienting to some viewers. But if you're ready for a wild ride (exactly what this movie claims to be), you'll love it. And it has a cool dog in it too.

Other good movies in the same genre include "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie), the hilarious "My Cousin Vinny" (Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei) and the classic "Foul Play" (Chevy Chase & Goldie Hawn).

The story about the pistol is far from interesting. The continuous flashbacks are very boring and make the movie move in an even slower tempo. Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts who play the lovers Jerry and Samantha have absolutely no chemistry together. Julia Roberts usually isn't believable as someone's love interest so I'd blame it on her. How she became part of the A-list is beyond me. She's not Oscar-material (Hollywood obviously disagrees) but I guess one could call her an okay actress. However in this movie Roberts' character Samantha is such a dislikeable person that I have trouble watching any scenes she's in. In all fairness I guess the writers' are more to blame for the character's flaws than Roberts. Throughout the movie Jerry and Samantha fight constantly. Now, I do think that a quarrelling couple can be sexy, passionate and interesting but that unfortunately does not include Jerry and Samantha. I just can't see them either have a past or a future together. Luckily enough Pitt and Roberts only have a few scenes together. However even though Roberts have better chemistry with James Gandolfini her character Samantha is so annoying and boring that I never stand watching their scenes together. Despite Gandolfini's wonderful acting. What I find entertaining (yes, there is actually some good moments) about this movie is Jerry's and his partner Ted's run in with the locals. Brad Pitt's Jerry is a charming fool and J.K. Simmons is perfectly cast as Ted. My favourite scene is the conversation between Jerry and the car thief (Rochard Coca) when Jerry has to shoot him in the foot. The funny moments are unfortunately few and far between and I'd rate this movie a 5 out of 10 or a weak 6.

The Mexican really has it all. It has the feel of an old Western, mixed with gangster flicks and a nice romantic comedy. It's really entertaining and pleasing.

Pitt plays a bumbling slacker gangster criminal dude who makes a mistake on a job, and is forced to undertake one last job. The gig is retrieving an ancient pistol. Little does he know he will have to go through great lengths to retrieve that pistol, and everyone around him may be feeding him lies to attain it as well.

Pitt plays his character so well. It's fun watching him throughout the movie. He is what the slackers should look upto, and it's his best role yet. I couldn't suggest a better time in the cinematic world.

Spend some time with this movie. You may regret it, but I liked it at least.

7 stars

What do you get when you combine two of Hollywood's most famous sex symbols, the director of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and Mexico? Apparently, an overlong, boring mix of comedy, romance and violence -- which, in this case, is a rather lackluster result considering the potential.

Jerry (Brad Pitt) is one of the most inept criminals in history. Five years ago he crashed into the back of a crime lord's car and, as a result, found himself working off the accident by running errands. Jerry's last retrieval before retirement involves skipping the border into Mexico, finding a rare and beautifully crafted pistol (The Mexican), returning it to Margolese (Gene Hackman) and walking away from everything happily. But Jerry's girlfriend, Samantha (Julia Roberts), is tired of Jerry's continual lying and criminal feats, so she dumps him and heads for Las Vegas.

After arriving in Mexico unscathed, Jerry soon finds himself at the wrath of thugs, murderers and hit men intent on stealing The Mexican from him. Meanwhile, Samantha finds herself taken hostage by a gay hit man with a heart named Leroy (James Gandolfini of "Get Shorty" and TV's "The Sopranos"), who -- by following all of the Hollywood cliches -- is an amiable, likable guy who wouldn't harm a fly.

The advertising for "The Mexican" had it all wrong. The studios advertised it as a sweet, funny comedy starring two of Hollywood's biggest stars. The major cop-out is that Pitt and Roberts share most of the film far apart from each other -- which isn't a huge problem anyway, as it provides a pleasant twist on the repetitive buddy formula. But the movie's twisting, turning, violent, harsh style soon grows weary -- especially as the second hour draws nearer. The end almost redeems the rest of the film, but not quite.

"The Mexican" is primarily interested in doing things that have already been done before, such as culture clashing. Take, for instance, the scene where Jerry spends a good minute or so trying to tell a band of traveling hombres that he needs a ride to the nearest town. Somehow, Jerry confuses "carro" for "deniro" and the driver's eyes suddenly light up. "Robert De Niro?" he asks with a big gap-toothed grin. Another joke that indicates foreign countries know more about Hollywood than actual language. Har-har. It'd be funny if it hadn't been done before.

If you're looking for something harsh, "The Mexican" may very well be too sweet. And vice versa. The movie is too wish-washy -- sometimes it wants to be the next gritty comedy ("Trainspotting") and sometimes it's aiming for cute gimmicks and completely silly characters.

And then, even worse than trying jokes and failing, "The Mexican" never even strives to give us funny moments. In that scene where Jerry tries to hail a ride to the next town, the punchline is never delivered. All road travel movies are about confusion, usually resulting in two people misunderstanding each other. What should have happened is this: Jerry has a hard time explaining to the Mexican driver that he wants a ride. Finally, they both understand each other, and Jerry thinks everything is OK, but soon finds himself being left in the dust by the car, which continues driving on. Because confusion is funny, and "The Mexican" never understands this. That is one of its most fundamental flaws.

GOOD - Story was interesting the first time around.....loved the cinematography; nice Mexican scenery.... liked Brad Pitt's dialog and his character was fun to watch.....enjoyed the few side-bits with the dog and was surprised when Gene Hackman showed up late in the film.

BAD - Julia Roberts ruined this film, at least by the second viewing. She was either yelling at Pitt all the time or gushing over a hit-man who admitted he was gay, and both routines wore thin. She thought (being gay) that was just the greatest thing and really overdid it.

Overall, if you modified Roberts' character into someone less abrasive this might have been a "keeper."