Torrente: the Dumb Arm of the Law

Just bought and seen the dvd (dirt cheap) though I never heard of it. Had the same experience with works like Almodovar (Todo Sobre Mi madre, Carne Tremular) and Amenabar (Abre Los Ojos). None of them were disappointing (understatement). First I thought It would be a movie like Bad Lieutenant , this time on too much sangria. From the right beginning really funny and a-moral. But hey, it turned out to be a true movie after all.

This guy (Torrente) is an ex-cop, El Fary and Altético Madrid fan. This movie (and the whole Torrente-saga) is about stupid and bizarre characters and they are very funny, you can trust in me. He is very fumbler and his "friends" are also flumbers. He has a few mates like Rafi who wants to be a cop, Amparito is a slag but somehow she likes Torrente('s carrot), Malaguita is his informer who can't give a true information for the Spanish super cop and... there are a few more unbelievable characters but I don't really want to spoil the whole movie. Overall, this film is an excellent action-comedy and you will laugh the whole approximately 97 minutes. Watch it! My opinion: 10 out of 10!

Spanish auteur Santiago Segura, who wrote, directed and stars in this film, creates a decent if overly dark comedy about corruption. Segura claims to be a member of the Madrid police force, but his outlandish behavior – he drinks before going on duty and forces his wheelchair-bound father to beg to increase his income – hardly demonstrates the qualities required of a representative of the law. When sleazy nymphomaniac Neus Asensi moves in next door, he befriends her cousin, extremely nerdy Javier Cámara. When Segura and his new sidekick accidentally discover a drug ring run through a Chinese restaurant, Cámara calls in his loser friends to help. As the cast gets significantly reduced in a flurry of bullets and tragedy, Segura concludes the film with a few plot twists and the unsettling suggestion that sometimes people are as bad as they seem. An inherently unfunny story gets injected with a dose of morbid wit through Segura's approach to the characters. His attitude toward humanity appears quite dark. Everyone in the film either takes advantage of others or finds himself exploited, and no one seems to wind up punished for their wrongdoings. True, a number of maniacal drug dealers get offed, but so do all of Cámara's awkward, endearing friends. Segura follows few conventions in his portrayal of the world of his deluded cop. Chus Lampreave, familiar from several of Pedro Almodóvar's films, has a nice role as Cámara's mother.

This film is awfully fun if you like the crazy comedies in style of John Waters, or films like the amazing Ettore Scola's "Brutti, sporchi e cattivi" or "Dumb and dumber" for that matter. Bad taste comedies, that is. And this film is up there among the finest.

A lot of other great comedies come to mind while watching this. If you like these kind of films, I'll also highly recommend the brilliant films "One night at McCools", "Seven psychopaths", "Drowning Mona" and "What's up, Doc?" Or the "Airplane-movies". I simply love these kind of stupidly funny films.

What makes this stand out is the fabulous supporting actors roles, more than the main role. The film is filled with passages you immediately want to see again. Now, if that isn't a sign of a good crazy comedy, I don't know.

Sure, it filthy, racist, disgusting and insulting, but it is as stupid as they come. The Seat- driving Commissionaire Torrente is really the dumb arm of the law.

Recommended for a good laugh if you are not if the easily offended.

Torrente, a useless medium aged man, overweight, coward and ugly. He has a dream of being a police, and he actually pretends to be one. At times, it does reflect what the real policemen do. Always be there, at the end of any incident.

Rafi is his friend, a action movie freak who is living with his mum and cousin Amparito.

Torrente and Rafi will be patrolling Madrid and they get involve in real gun shooting, as they meet drug traffickers and other undesirable human beings.

Highly recommended to have nice laughing time. Nice watch and very funny, one of the best comedies in the Spanish movie industry :)