Mejor es que Gabriela no se muera

The genre "comedy" as well as the cheery pink DVD cover and breezy description may lead you to believe that this is a silly madcap comedy along the lines of Police Academy #(whatever number they're on). If that's what you're expecting, then you're in for a few surprises.

The story is about a TV soap opera writer, "Miguel", who reluctantly becomes "friends" with a police officer, "Brancho", who is an obsessed fan of the soap. Brancho learns that the soap plans to kill off its lead character, so he begins stalking, harassing and violently threatening Miguel with the warning, you guessed it, "It's better that Gabriela doesn't die!"

With a setup like this, the film could've easily chosen to be as wacky as "Weekend at Bernies", but it's definitely not. It begins cheeky enough, but it soon becomes unsettling as we realize that the police officers isn't just a silly ham. He's every bit as violent and unhinged as Robert De Niro in "The Untouchables" minus the baseball bat. Brancho's descent into psycopathy is not played off as silly; it's done very seriously. Thus toward the end, the story is hardly a comedy any more but almost a dark thriller.

And yet, it remains peppered with some really fun moments (such as the mysterious "Abigail" character who is a bizarre cross between a drag queen and every James Bond villain you've ever seen), so it's not like the film drops the comedy façade entirely. Perhaps it can be broadly compared to something like "Pulp Fiction" which has elements of comedy as well as serious, disturbing drama.

The cinema nerds amongst us will love some of the artistic shots and creative camera work, as well as the subtle jabs at lame soap opera "cinematography" as we see a parody of the soap they're shooting. And the arthouse crowd will be wowed by 2 or 3 really "out there" scenes that'll have you scratching your head and stroking your beard.

Despite all this, the flick can still be watched for pure entertainment value, although that's like watching "2001: A Space Odyssey" for the Strauss music. There's a lot going on here, and I think if you want the full experience you should be ready for everything, not just a "comedy".

the story is so excellent... i really haven't come across much else like it. at once funny and dramatic, oddly compelling. what starts out as an ordinary day at the office (doing a job you'd rather not have) turns into near-disaster. i love the kind of movies that twist and turn and build and build into ever more fantastic conclusions.

also an interesting view on Mexican society, whether you've been there or not.

the actors were believable and rich, not the kind you either love or hate, they had many shades in between. the film will delight you visually with its setting and details. go see it! the only reason i don't give it a 10 is i was confused at a few points, though that may be because i was trying to listen to the Spanish without reading all the subtitles, and i'm not a fluent speaker.