Aí é que Está a Coisa

In Spanish-speaker culture, "Cantinflear" is a approved word (The Real Academic of Spanish language). That means so much in a language. Cantinflas is the best comedian in our culture. He was Passepartout in "Around the World in Eighty Days", but the better performance were in the trial of the movie "Ahí está el detalle", all the people finished speaking like him (cantinfleando). I believe that the confusion in this movie is so good due to Bobby was a dog but the trial was a man murderer. Cantinflas is the Best comedian in America Spanish-speaker.

Mario Moreno created his trademark character in the thirties. However Cantinflas appeared as a leading role for the first time in 1940 with "Ahi está el Detalle". Near 3/4 Century later, "Ahi está el Detalle" stands proudly as the most representative Cantinflas movie. Yes, most of the ingenious monologues are very difficult to translate, because they are tricky word combinations (for example: try to translate a David Letterman's joke to another language, or more extremely, to another region inside the US, it's absolutely New Yorker!!!!!). However, "Ahí está el Detalle" is a true monument of Comedy, and Cantinflas proudly stands beside Charlot in the Olympus of the great humorists.

I'm not a big fan of comedies, but Cantínflas is absolutely wonderful and this is one of his best films. I laughed out loud all through the film, and loved it so much I bought the dvd. Most of the humor is verbal, like in the best of the Marx brothers films, so I'm not sure how it comes across with subtitles to a non-Spanish speaking public. I suspect some of the puns and witty responses don't hold up well to translation. If you know Spanish, you will marvel at Mario Moreno's verbal skills. If you don't know Spanish, you can still enjoy his silly behavior, his funny facial expressions, and the general exasperation of other characters who try to follow his logic. The pace is fast, the gags are constant, and you will really understand why Mexican audiences flocked to see Cantínflas films for so many years when you see this movie. He's a cultural icon, and you can't really understand Mexican films without knowing something about this man. He makes fun of authorities, he turns the system on its head and comes out on top against all odds. It's worth watching to see how he does it.

Cantinflas at his best, in a screwball comedy that rivals any produced by Hollywood. But to fully appreciate it, you need to have some knowledge of the cultural context and be fluent in Spanish - and even then, it's often difficult to follow the rapid-fire, sometimes incoherent utterances of Cantinflas' character, as demonstrated by the other characters.

This was Cantinflas' "epoca de oro", where he abstains from the preachiness and maudlin sentimentality of his later period and completely gives in to his inner "golfo"...

I still think of this, one of his first movies, as his best. Here Cantinflas' explodes with comic genius. He fully develops the under-educated but always noble, kind-hearted delinquent he is that speaks his mind, only to the confusion of even the most highly educated. The courtroom ending scene also establishes the formula for a bunch of "mistaken identity" plot movies that follow.

The "Bobby" scene at the beginning makes you howl with laughter. The portrayal of the absurdities and paranoia of the upper class let every working-class bloke bellow out loud as well.