Papi chulo

Chasing Papi (2003) Roselyn Sanchez, Sofia Vergara, Jaci Velasquez, Eduardo Verastequi, Lisa Vidal, Freddy Rodriguez, D.L. Hughley, Maria Conchita Alonso, D: Linda Mendoza.

Inoffensive but underwhelming Latin comedy about a handsome Romeo working as an advertising executive and dating three beautiful women in three different states all at once. When they are convinced to drop everything they're doing and race to their man's side, all three women discover of his betrayal and get wrapped up in a quandary together.

If it weren't for a plot about a bag of money, this silly story wouldn't go anywhere. It's fun, but a smile is the closest thing you'll find to a single laugh.

Running Time: 80 minutes and rated PG for mild sensuality and language.

RATING: ** (out of ****)

The movie was obviously attempting to be like one of the classic screwball romantic comedies. It succeeds in the style, but not exactly the comedy. Don't get me wrong, there are laughs, but it could've been a lot funnier. I blame part of the failed comic attempts on the writing and part on the actors. They should've just filmed the movie in Spanish. Some of the Hispanic actors really seemed to struggle with the English dialogue. In comedy, it's all about timing, so the expression of the dialogue must be on target. I give the actors points for effort, but all that hard work could've been spared if they spoke in their native language.

I think what mainly makes the film work for me is the fast pace. Despite how silly each situation is, the pace is fast enough to prevent you from dwelling on the silliness. Plus, seeing three beautiful Latina women strut their stuff throughout doesn't hurt either. I saw Sofia Vergara before in "Big Trouble," but she looks different in the movie and I might not have remembered from that previous film because well...I'm trying not to remember it period. It was one of the worst comedies I've ever seen! "Chasing Papi" gives her a much better outlet for her talent. She has got to be THE most beautiful women I've ever seen! Whenever I see her on screen, I feel like Jim Carrey in "The Mask" when he was watching Cameron Diaz do that musical number. If my jaw could literally drop like his character, that would be my exact reaction. I mean, she makes Roselyn Sanchez pale in comparison, and saying a hell of a lot.

All I can say is the film is a lot of fun. I'm surprised by the extremely low rating. And by the way, Paul Rodriguez has a funny cameo, playing similar to the Michael Caine role in "Miss Congeniality."

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Obviously this movie would have been terrible without the attractive women, but it was still very entertaining. I'm surprised at people that gave this movie a score of 1, I don't know what people expected of this movie but it was exactly what I expected, and cute comedy with a somewhat very thin plot with some fun times. Nothing more.

I just love an old style slap stick silly comedy and have never seen it done quite so well by a strong (and I must say most beautiful) female Latino group of actors. The last good foreign produced slap stick comedy that I greatly enjoyed was the 2009 India film titled "3 Idiots". I am a bit surprised at the below par average of 4.8 provided by the current 3,392 IMDb raters who viewed the film. I can only surmise that many of my fellow IMDb critics may have taken some offence to the three leading ladies namely Sofia Vergara (TV star of the very successful Emmy winning series Modern Family), Roselyn Sanchez (star of TV's Devious Maids), and recording artist Jaci Velasquez as being perceived/used as eye candy only. Sorry fellow viewers but maybe you need to watch the film a few more times to see how good the physical comedy is in this film. Just the varied humorous arguments and facial expressions by the four leading actors are worth the price of admission alone.

I for one felt that Sofia Vergara's role as Cici the hot waitress who is one of the three lovely ladies being wooed by handsome hunk and jet setter Thomas Fuentes (played by the only male star Eduardo Verastegui) was silly enough to make it believable that she would fall into the trap of the male gigolo Thomas Fuentes. It was no surprise to me that Ms. Vergara's stardom has continued to rise as does most men's blood pressure when they see her. My summary statement above that the film Chasing Papi is a female version of the great Three Stooges (Curly, Larry and Moe) also assisted the producers in selecting Ms. Vergara to star in the 2012 comedy remake of The Three Stooges.

Singing artist Jaci Velasquez most likely agreed to join the cast as the spoiled Patricia, the rich kid daughter of wealthy parents who also falls for Thomas, just to use her acting role to expand her audience and assist in boosting her record sales. She did an admirable job but her limited acting roles subsequent to making Chasing Papi would indicate to me she preferred to focus her attention on her singing career.

Eduardo Verastegui who plays the playboy Thomas Fuentes does an admirable job in keeping his audience's attention that maybe there is a redeemable reason why he chose to date three hot Latino ladies in three different cities simultaneously. The psychiatrist that Thomas goes to see can't quite put his finger on why Thomas chooses to date three hotties simultaneously so he does what any good American doctor would do….he prescribes tranquilizers for Thomas to take. Thomas is then pursued by an attractive FBI agent named Carmen (played by Lisa Vidal) who is actually chasing some criminals and a bag of cash. To our surprise as Carmen continues to holds Thomas captive in her car while giving chase to his three lovely ladies she is able to quickly diagnose why Thomas is dating the three ladies concurrently. I don't want to have to add a spoiler alert so watch the movie and find out what has driven Thomas to date Cici, Patricia and Lorena all at the same time. Hey, I believed Carmen's diagnosis so why shouldn't you?

Last but not least I must comment on the silly and playful role by the most beautiful Roselyn Sanchez as Lorena, who is a bespectacled lawyer who also falls for our playboy Thomas. Through the many misadventures experienced by the three Latino lovelies I felt Roselyn's role was the most revealing of both her acting chops and her natural beauty. Her many facial and physical expressions are so natural it is easy to see how she can transfer between dramatic and comedic roles so easily. If I had to pick one star who shone through it would have to be that or Roselyn's role as the bespectacled lawyer who is also smitten by the gigolo Thomas.

In summary, the film Chasing Papi makes for very light viewing, with some good musical and dance numbers thrown in for good measure. But make no mistake; there is a decent enough plot and sub plot to this film that should keep most couples entertained throughout. I especially liked the ending because there were no losers. Everybody wins. Certainly there are no Academy Award winning performances here to speak about but I did enjoy the film and would recommend it to friends and family. It is probably not worth a higher rating than a 6 but I will give it an 8 to help counter some of the lower than expected scores this decent film was awarded by others.

8/10

First let me say - I don't speak/read/understand/relate to Spanish. When I say the movie my wife won from a radio station I rolled my eyes. I thought "great a movie I can really relate to". The Title is something to do with a Spanish version of "Who's your daddy" Ladies man. This guy was smooth with three lovely ladies who are falling overboard with his charm and understanding. Now lets get on with my comments: I LOVED it and yes once it is available on DVD, I will pick it up as something to laugh it. It was very original and tasteful. The Main Actors each had great roles and plenty of famous actors on the sides. For the Spanish Community it will be a highly recommended movie. For the Non-Spanish community it will be a something I will watch in the movie theater because once it leaves, it will be hard to remember it once it is available on rental (It won't stick out).