RUDO Y CURSI — ★★ — Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna; with English subtitles (Spanish dialects); rated R (profanity, vulgarity, drugs, violence, slurs, sex, nudity); Broadway Centre
The tone's all wrong for "Rudo y Cursi."
This Spanish-language comedy-drama keeps trying to convince us it's lighter-hearted than its material would suggest.
So when the movie doesn't seem to take some brutality, drug content and other, similarly material seriously, it's hard for us to do so, too.
Ultimately, this sibling-rivalry tale is a disappointing re-teaming of actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, who starred together in the 2001 art house hit "Y Tu Mama Tambien."
Here they play Tato and Beto, quarrelsome half-brothers whose fortunes change as a result of soccer … or as they know it, futbol.
A sports scout named Batuta (Guillermo Francella), recruits the two gifted but aging athletes to play for different Mexican professional teams.
And they thrive in their new surroundings. Especially Beto (Luna), or "Cursi," who seems to destined to break records as a goalie.
As for Tato (Bernal) or "Rudo," he would rather toy with a singing career and would rather romance Maya (Jessica Mas), a professional model.
Meanwhile, Beto runs afoul of gangsters because of his gambling addiction.
Screenwriter/director Carlos Cuaron treats this latter subplot in a surprisingly flippant manner. And a "hazing" sequence, while played for laughs, is very distasteful and is a little disturbing.
Frankly, Cuaron and the film are lucky to have these two stars. Thanks to their charms, it's not the outright disaster it could have been.
(But Bernal's croaking butchery of the Cheap Trick hit "I Want You to Want Me" doesn't earn him — or the movie — much good will.)
"Rudo y Cursi" is rated R and features crude sexual language and references (profanity and vulgar slang), drug content and references (narcotics), some strong violent action (athletics based violence, a shooting and some sexual violence), derogatory language and slurs (some based on sexual orientation), simulated sex and other sexual contact, and brief female and full male nudity. Running time: 102 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com