182: Rudo Y Cursi

Rudo Y Cursi (R) - 2009 - Runtime: 103 minutes
Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna
Director: Carlos Cuarón

Sometimes trailers can push me over the fence into seeing a movie. Rudo Y Cursi is one of those. This trailer was awesome. The cover of "I Want You to Want Me" by Los Odios is perfect; what a cover should be.

It doesn't hurt that the movie has been generally well received, either. I haven't seen Y Tu Mamá También (it's on my list!) and I guess this movie reunites Luna and Bernal. And it's a pretty fantastic reunion. I don't like soccer... excuse me, football... so I was skeptical at how much I would really like this movie. I connected with this movie because of the unique rivalry between these two siblings.

Tato (Cursi, meaning corny) and Beto (Rudo, meaning rough) are two brothers who dream of better lives. As luck would have it, they come upon a soccer agent who sees potential in both of them, but can only take one under his wing. Cursi makes the cut and leaves his brother to the shanty town they grew up in. Eventually Rudo gets his break and they both become stars - Rudo the ultimate goalie and Cursi, the tenacious striker. They both rise quickly to super stardom and fall quite harshly.

It's a tale as old as time, but somehow, it manages to be engaging and fresh. Both brothers take completely different, yet very similar paths to stardom and crash and burn quite stupendously. Cursi becomes obsessed with his shallow, TV star girlfriend and tries to become a singing sensation even though he's not that good and Rudo ends up addicted to gambling and cocaine. There are some genuinely funny moments in this movie - and some compelling dramatic ones, too. Some moments you want to wring their necks and other times you want to high five them. The movie runs the whole gamut of emotions and does it perfectly. It's a bit long, but nevertheless compelling and I wanted to know what was going to happen to these brothers.

It all ends in a climactic showdown when the two brothers meet to play against each other and lives are on the line quite literally. It's a fun, quirky little movie that's narrated by their agent, who is just as messed up as them in his own ways. He often uses soccer as a metaphor for life and what's happening to the brothers and it sounds corny (another pun!), but it's all part of the feel of the movie.

If you're up for a foreign movie, love soccer or can go for something a little quirky, Rudo y Cursi is the right fit - it really is full of some heartfelt moments and laughs. Good stuff.

Rating: Rent It!