Operación Camarón

Very nice situations and an acting chemistry that result in a fresh and really attractive comedy . Being a peculiar cop genre piece with a curious mix of comedy , action and violence at times and all determinedly set in Andalucia. A simple and effective new comedy by Carlos Therón , it is a film full of crazy situations , carried out by a cast in a state of grace that assures you quite solvent entertainment for two hours approx . It concerns Sebas (Julián López) , a rookie police officer , with the look of a nerd on duty and musical gifts for playing the piano, arrives practically plugged in to Cádiz , outside his hometown of Toledo . Sebas with a past in music studies , gets recruited for a special mission as a pianist for a musical band close to a mob boss and by pure chance becomes the key officer in dismantling an important network of drug trafficking in southern Spain , under the name of Operation Camarón. The premise is slight and plain , as a misfit , bumbling cop is trained to undertake a hard and secret mission . The assignment in question consists of impersonating a keyboardist and infiltrating the most fashionable flamenco-trap band in Cádiz, "Los Lolos" led by Lolo (Nene) , to play at the wedding of the daughter of a dangerous gangster and drug trafficker (Antonio Dechent) . To do this, he will have to change his appearance , his style, way of speaking and incidentally and inadvertently become the revelation member of the band.

This is a fine and crazy comedy starred by a varied group of young actors giving great consistency to the film, resulting to be a decent remake of the Italian film «Song 'e Napule» or Song of Napoli (2013) by Antonio and Marco Manetti . It packs action , amusement , witty gags , funny Spanish clichés , comical incidents , tongue-in-cheek , surrealist comedy , working surprisingly well , though including conventional pitfalls and many other things . It follows the classic formula of the so-called "fish out of water" comedy referring to that type of story that is characterized by literally taking its protagonist out of his natural environment, to infiltrate another world . Here newly a botcher cop well played by Julián López gets in problem as he becomes infiltrated into a musical band to perform at a wedding ceremony and resulting in fateful consequences. The best example in this regard to exemplify the concept turns out to be Sister Act (Emile Ardolino, 1992), and other uncountable films or TV series as Cuerpo de élite (2018) , although the example to which Carlos Therón's title is perhaps most similar is the saga of Infiltrados en clase (Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, 2012) ; but even despite it , this Operación Camarón displays its own particular style resulting in an agreeable entry in this subgenre. Director delivers a good work , his knack of getting the most out of characters and situations without ever going over the top makes for some very big laughs . This production pays tribute to several films , taking parts here and there. Main and support cast are frankly well . Top-notch Julián López in what can be his best role to date , the always outstanding Natalia de Molina, an unrecognizable Carlos Librado and Miren Ibarguren stand out at the helm of a cast full of familiar faces in supporting roles , such as : Antonio Dechent , Alberto López , Adelfa Calvo, Paco Tous , Julián Villagrán, Canco Rodríguez , all of them bringing high level and attractiveness on their interpretations.

Beyond its effectivity as an attractive comedy, Operación Camarón embraces different influences from North American action cinema, which are well represented in its very fast-paced final with car pursuits , crashes and mayhem , where action and comedy go hand in hand as rarely happens in this type of Spanish production. Writers Josep Gatell and Manuel Burque, provide an enjoyable story with a certain sympathy , surprises and movement enough . In addition, a colorful cinematography by Sergi Gallardo shot on Andalucian locations in Lebrija , Seville , San Juan de Aznalfarache, Seville, Sanlúcar la Mayor, Guillena , Coria del Río , Utrera, Seville, La Puebla del Río, Seville, and Cádiz , Andalucía, Spain . Adding a catching soundtrack composed by Riki Rivera by means of the fusion of flamenco-trap with reggeaton , and delivering an extra dose of self-confidence that thanks to its catchy main theme make you spend an even better time in the cinema , including catching songs like "Cuando zarpa el amor" by Camela. This unprejudiced and very likeable comedy motion picture was well directed by Carlos Therón in his fifth feature film , perhaps his greatest success . His direction manages to surprise us and have its own identity as a comedy made in Spain . Carlos is an acceptable craftsman who has previously written and directed ¨Fuga de cerebros¨, ¨Impavido¨ , ¨Es por tú bien¨and has made episodes of notorious TV series such as : ¨Olmos Y Robles¨ , ¨El Chiringuito De Pepe¨, ¨Hombres De Paco¨ and ¨El Barco¨ . Operación Camarón unsures you have a big time in the movie theater or watching on a large TV set.

Sometimes it is nice to watch a movie that gives exactly what you expect, even if it's not a masterpiece. "Operación Camarón" is a fun comedy with a warm touch, typical Spanish. However, foreigners may arguably find it difficult to understand or feel connected to it, since most of the jokes are related to andalusian folklore. Still, enjoyable.