Pulling Strings

Would you like a nice date night flick? Look no further than "Pulling Strings"! It's sweet and clever and is a great prelude to a night of good lovin'!

Jaime Camil stars as Alejandro, a professional Mariachi singer living in Mexico City. He knows this isn't the best life, as he's also a widower trying to raise his young daughter, so he wants to visit family in the States and leave his daughter with them. However, his request for a VISA was denied by a US Embassy bureaucrat who barely gave him a chance.

A short time later, this same bureaucrat, Rachel (Laura Ramsey) has been promoted and her coworkers throw a big party for her...complete with a Mariachi band. Well, like you expect in a movie, Alejandro happens to be the singer and during the course of the evening, Rachel gets totally smashed. In fact, when Alejandro leaves the party to go home, he finds her asleep on a bench at a bus stop...definitely not a good idea anywhere but a horrible idea in Mexico City! Alejandro is a good guy and tries to help by calling her a cab. But she is so drunk, he can't even find out where she lives, so he brings her home. When she awakens, she is not surprisingly shocked to find herself in a strange man's apartment...she is also shocked to find that her boss' computer, which he gave her for safekeeping, is missing...and she had it with her at the bus stop! So nice-hearted Alejandro takes her across Mexico City looking for it....and the city is one of the biggest cities in the world! So what's to come of all this? See the film.

This is a highly unusual film because it's not so much a Mexican film with some Americans in it or vice-versa. It's more like an American cast and a Mexican cast being brought together for a movie....and it works very well. Plus, it gives you a nice look at the Mexicans in this mega-city...warts and all. Very sweet, very original and, at times, very romantic. Well worth your time.

After the death of his wife, a promising singer's career is put on hold as he tries to cope with the loss and take care of his young daughter, Maria. Depressed and not believing he is doing enough for his daughter, Alejandro (Jaime Camil) decides to send her to her grandparents in the United States. Unfortunately when he goes to get a visa at the US Embassy his application is rejected by an unsympathetic embassy employee, Rachel (Laura Ramsey), who meticulously follows the rules for granting visas, leaving Alejandro out in the cold. Bitter, Alejandro blames Rachel, who he complains 'wouldn't even look at him,' for all his troubles.

Rachel, who is about to accept a promotion to a position in London, is shocked when her colleagues throw her a going away party that night. With his career in the dumpster, Alejandro is relegated to playing in a mariachi band, and is shocked when he finds himself playing for Rachel at the going away party. Inspired by the chance meeting he decides he's been given a second chance to get his visa, so he concocts a complicated plan to gain Rachel's favor.

Although Alejandro's scheme is a bit over the top, he takes Rachel on such an enchanting ride that she can't help but rethink her feelings about Mexico and Alejandro. Although Rachel is rather naive for a diplomat, she is refreshingly honest and trusting which paints her as anything but a cold-hearted American. Strong performances by Jaime Camil, Laura Ramsey and Omar Shaparro brought this heart-warming romantic comedy to life and made it a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Finely acted by Laura Ramsey and Jaime Camil, this is a fresh romance plot with apt twists and turns to keep you glued to the screen. Laura and Jaime have got a good chemistry in this movie. Soundtrack is lovely enough to resonate with your heart. Watch with a loved one for a warm start to an amorous night.

When a fork in the road sends you down a different path than the one you had planned, what will you do?

Whatever the shortcomings of the film may be, if you give it a chance you don't actually see them. This film in my opinion is masterpiece- 2 stories in 1. A good father that wants to be better. A budding love story in plain sight, but not seen by the two love birds.

Jaime Camil (Alejandro/the dad) is fantastic, and his singing is phenomenal, especially the song he sings to his daughter at her school. Laura Ramsey (Rachel), the embassy worker that is too "by the book" transforms from her cocoon into a butterfly seeing the city, the culture, the people for the 1st time, because of Alejandro. When you open your eyes you'd be amazed at what you will see. Omar Chaparo (Canicas) provides the comic relief needed and does it very well.

What brings them together is a laptop, but what unites them is something Rachel never had. Will she accept? Will she pick Mexico City or London?

I watched it 3 times & each time caught things I'd missed before.

Looking to kill some time, I took a chance on this title. I'd heard nothing about it (and I follow movies more than most people do), but was drawn by -- of all things -- the presence of Tom Arnold in the cast. And I think Tom Arnold has a very likable screen presence.

Well, Tom Arnold is there, and his character possesses the qualities I enjoy; but he is not the reason to see "Pulling Strings." Rather enjoy it as a romantic comedy with a thriller element, filled with interesting characters and set in what is for most Americans an exotic, if relatable, setting. The leads and supporting characters are all attractive, amusing, or both. (To Yanks, the other familiar actor is Stockard Channing). It goes where you'd expect it to, but with some unexpected side trips.

The lead character's job as a mariachi is played up; he performs several songs throughout the picture, all part of the story-telling. I kept thinking of this as what a really nice Elvis Presley movie might have looked like.

If any of this or the other reviews sounds even remotely interesting, please give "Pulling Strings" a shot (or a stream). It's not going to change cinema, but I preferred to any number of other recent comedies. Now, I'm off to see if I can find any background on the producers