Rudo et Cursi

It is a very good Mexican movie about soccer and fame; the plot is fun and the acting is excellent; I highly recommend it.

Two siblings rival each other inside the world of professional soccer.

This film is marketed as being from the creators of "Y Tu Mama Tambien", which is not only true but very wise marketing. But let us not be fooled, this film is not on the same level, even if it looks just as good and has the same folks involved.

Aspects of it are quite good, and the Cheap trick karaoke is fairly amusing. But this rivalry of two soccer players is not very compelling. In "Mama", there was another rivalry between two young men, but that seemed more powerful. This is a situation where we feel no need to care about one or the other.

In his debut as director someone could expect something more from Cuaron especially if we see starring Gael Garcia and Diego Luna this time as two province ingenuous brothers, amateur futbol players who are tempted for a kind of mercenary scout,played by the Argentine actor Guillermo Francella(exceptional in this role)to try their luck at Mexico City in a Professional team,the movie plays with different situations around the futbol business ,some of them very attached with the reality ,for example that the agents of the futbol players make a lot of money and become the futbol in a very expensive show, the agents have to spread some money to trainers and others in order to their player could have the opportunity to play,some of these points I guess Cuaron could be advised by Hector Gonzalez Iñarritu, Director of Mexican Futbol Federation and brother of Alejandro Gonzalez one of the producers of the film,about these facts difference others very far of the reality as futbol Players begin their career at their thirty and without experience even in amateur competition Aside these points the movie result very entertaining as the way of Garcia and Luna develop their characters although sometimes Luna overact especially his way to speak, sounds like "Ponchito" the personage of Andres Bustamante famous in TV,besides Gael make funny his perform of singer despite of his awful interpretation, a kind of parody of Valentin Elizalde,unlike others very pretentious characters that he plays in different films,the movie got a very good reward in ticket offices mostly because of its starring couple

The history of the peasant or working class young man who rises to the top in the world of sports or entertainment only to fall due to betrayal and/or addiction has been told many times before, but this movie from the team of "Y Tu Mama Tambien" feels new and dynamic. Compelling, funny, insightful, fast-paced, philosophical, moving, this tale of two brothers who are able to leave their banana-picker job to become major league football stars in Mexico City is fresh and exciting.

With a vibrant cinematography, an unflinching look at the Mexican realities of the marginally-living rural laborer class and the world of professional football with its egos, deals, and fame, we are presented with a large incisive, ironic slice of Mexican life. Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as usual disappear into their roles this time as the competing brothers who are not prepared to hit the big time. Poverty, machismo, football fanaticism, gambling, sex, cocaine, family problems, shady people are shown as colorful and obscene as the language used by characters. The scenes are fluid and entertaining; it may be a drama but it is also a fun comedy and totally life-affirming. To top it all, there is a great music video with Garcia Bernal doing Van Halen's "I Want you to Want me" as a ranchera in Spanish. In the end, the movie even at 103 minutes feels perhaps too brief leaving one wishing for more.

"Rudo y Cursi" reaffirms the talents of director Carlos Cuaron, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna.

I saw this at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The two main characters are brothers and polar opposites in terms of the roles they have. One being fun, jokey laughable while the other is more gritty, serious and intense. Depending on who was on screen, the story weaved from pleasing comedy to suspenseful drama. The movie is based around the 2 brothers being plucked from banana plantation obscurity into footballing limelight but this is by no means a movie about football. It's more about the the brothers yearning for fame and fortune and their determination to provide better lives for their loved ones. The directors and actors were present at the screening and asked the audience to watch this "not as a foreign movie but simply as a movie." With that in mind, don't go to see this looking for strong statement about Mexico City, go and see it for the story and acting itself.