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Review || BY Michelle Orange || 03 15 2012 6:00 PM

REVIEW: Madre de Dios! Will Ferrell and Co. Make Casa de Mi Padre One Long, Perfunctory Inside Joke

REVIEW: Madre de Dios! Will Ferrell and Co. Make Casa de Mi Padre One Long, Perfunctory Inside Joke

For a movie with a comedic premise this simple – essentially: can you believe we made a movie with a premise this simple? – Casa de Mi Padre can feel pretty exhausting. Its comic arsenal is laid bare by the end of the credits sequence: There is Will Ferrell playing a Mexican ranchero and speaking Spanish; Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal as narco peacocks; telenovela melodrama played absurdly straight; self-conscious B-budget goofing; and plenty of guns and flames for ambiance. Are you not entertained?
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Behind the Camera || BY Fred Topel || 03 02 2012 8:00 PM

Will Ferrell Explains the Origins of Casa de mi Padre, His Spanish Telenovela Comedy

Will Ferrell in Casa de Mi Padre (2012)

Will Ferrell movies can usually be summed up as “Will Ferrell as a…” and you get it. Will Ferrell as a reporter? That’s funny. Will Ferrell as a NASCAR driver? Also funny. But Will Ferrell as a Spanish soap opera action hero? Casa de mi Padre is a Spanish language film starring Ferrell as a rancher’s son who goes to war with drug dealers to protect his brother’s girl (Genesis Rodriguez). Where, exactly, did he come up with this idea?
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