Rudo y Cursi Review
Not all reunions of memorable screen couples work -- think Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride. But the reunion of Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna in Rudo y Cursi is one that does, and joyously. The stars of Alfonso Cuarón's Y Tu Mamá También are working for Cuarón's brother this time, and Carlos Cuarón harnesses their chemistry to give us an engaging story of competing soccer prodigies and their roller-coaster careers. Although told in a predominantly comedic fashion, Rudo y Cursi works as a cautionary tale on the trappings of fame, as well as a philosophical meditation on both the concrete (soccer) and the abstract (fate). The poetic observations on soccer come via the narration of the talent scout who discovers the brothers, Batuta (Guillermo Francella), who strings together metaphors about soccer and life without over-stretching or assigning significance that isn't there. But Rudo y Cursi is also interested in the idea of fate, in a manner that goes beyond the clichéd coincidences that are designed to make inferior scripts seem clever. Insignificant details, miscommunications, fateful flips of the coin...they all play as much a role in the brothers' rise to fame as in their potential downfall. Neither is this to suggest that Rudo y Cursi is overly ponderous. Bernal and Luna appear to be having a grand old time playing eccentric superstars with a zest for their passions, and Cuarón finds the vibrancy in every camera setup. Naturally, there's enough game action to hold the interest of soccer's many fans, but it would be taking a narrow view of Rudo y Cursi to define it merely as a sports movie. Like most good films, it's a film about characters, and Beto (aka Rudo) and Tato (aka Cursi) happen to be endlessly watchable ones. Derek Armstrong, Rovi
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