Saturday, September 16, 2017

A Day Without a Mexican (2004)

Director: Sergio Arau

Writers: Sergio Arau, Yareli Arizmendi, Sergio Guerrero

Composer: Juan Colomer

Starring: Yareli Arizmendi, John Getz, Muse Watson, Caroline Aaron, Maureen Flannigan, Tony Abateamrco

More info: IMDb

Tagline: On May 14 there will be no Mexicans in California.

Plot: When a mysterious fog surrounds the boundaries of California, there is a communication breakdown and all the Mexicans disappear, affecting the economy and the state stops working missing the Mexican workers and dwellers.



My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No (but with that little wavy line above the 'o' making it all foreign looking and shit).

What sounds like a one joke movie ends up being...a one joke movie.  It's not a simple as that but a lot of the gags are those that practically write themselves once you begin with the premise that all Latinos in the state suddenly disappear without a trace.  There are different types of jokes so there's a possibility that some might work for you.  The ones that landed for me that got laughs were the ones that came out of nowhere like suddenly cutting to a gas powered leaf blower spinning on the ground in a circle or a driverless car with the front end bouncing across the screen and a car horn playing La Cucaracha.  That never gets old.   What does get old is the rest of the film that doesn't work for the same reason that telling the same joke many times in a row doesn't work.  The concept probably worked better on paper but extending it to 95 minutes is a tall order.  There's an obvious social commentary going on here but it's also such a simple and obvious one that it can be told much more succinctly in a less boring way.  This would make a hilarious 20 minute comedy and it would still be able to get the point across.  The thing is, I can't see this movie converting anyone from the anti-immigrant camp.  This movie was made, I'd reckon, for those of us who are on the immigrant's side and it misses the mark by overdoing it.

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