Smaller independent movies can be interesting to watch, they are more free to express their ideas, when the movie is also a foreign movie it can be interesting on many levels. "Rudo y Cursi" is directed by Carlos Cuarón who gives us a wide range of emotions here, he has us laughing one minute and then we are about to cry the next. The story is about two brothers Tato (Gael García Bernal) and Beto (Diego Luna) both have a love of the sport soccer. beto is a goalkeeper and he feels he is the best around, Tato is a threat to just score, its all he knows how to do. One day after practice the brothers are approached by Batuta (Guillermo Francella), a talent scout. He isn't clear on what he is scouting for, either musicians or sport stars? He claims to be looking for both, but he's a double-talker. He's only there because the tire on his red convertible goes flat and he lacks a spare.
Though they're not young they're good players but Batuta can only take one with him, so he sets up a little competition between the brothers, Beto gets in the net and tells Tato to kick the ball to the right. What follows is funny even though we can see it coming, the one thinks he is kicking to his right when the other meant to his right. When Tato scores Batuta tells him to be waiting in the morning for him. When Tato gets there and Batuta isn't there Beto tells him tha the was suckered, as Tato is getting his stuff to leave along comes Batuta. he drives Tato to Mexico city telling him that he will owe Batuta fifteen percent, that he will make it as a star, Tato wants to be a singer and asks Batuta to help him with that. Later Batuta calls Beto and tells him to get to Mexico City as well, that the teams have opened their rosters again and he can get Beto on a team.
When Tato makes it on the team he is soon given the nickname Cursi, and when Beto makes his team it is clear that the two brothers will meet again on the field. The off the field antics of the brothers clash as well, Tato makes it rich right away, his manager movies him into a big house and of course Beto moves in with him. When the fancy, sexy TV star Maya (Jessica Mas), starts to pay attention to Cursi he spends money on her left and right, he quickly finds out that her love isn't real, he sees a program on the television that reveals she is sleeping with another player. I'm sure that the struggle of some of these players are as hard as it is shown, some are gifted and make it on the field and off, some others fall into the trap that Beto did, he got addicted to cocaine and to gambling. The situations that Beto finds himself in are of his own creation and when he has to throw the final game it is a choice he must make, we see that the game means everything to him, that he doesn't want to throw it, but his love for his brother is stronger and he agrees.
This movie works because it is in Spanish, the little quirks are funny and amusing, this isn't to say that American film makers don't capture this feeling, they do, it just comes across as more true and deeper here. When the two brothers are at their height of fame they are happy, when the sport lets them down it is only Tato that seems happy.
I give Rudo Y Cursi a 3 and on my avoidance scale a 0, this is a smaller market movie that will hang around for a short while, it is being given a short run at some bigger chain theatres and if you want to see a very well done very clever film this is the one to see. If the movie that you want to see is sold out, and this summer offers plenty of big bang movies that will sell out, go and see this wonderful movie, you wont be disappointed.
Rudo Y Cursi is rated R for Pervasive Language, Sexual Content and Brief Drug Use
Running time is 1 hr. 43 mins.
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