Raleigh News & Observer Logo

'Rudo' doesn't have much kick | Raleigh News & Observer

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Sponsorships
    • Stay connected
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Social Media Directory
    • N&O Store
    • Buy Photos
    • Databases
    • Archives
    • Newsletters

    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Health
    • Local
    • North Carolina
    • Nation/World
    • Science
    • Thumbs Up
    • Traffic
    • Weather
    • Weird News
    • All News
    • Counties
    • Durham County
    • Johnston County
    • Orange County
    • Wake County
    • All Sports
    • Baseball
    • Canes
    • College
    • Columns & Blogs
    • High Schools
    • NASCAR & Auto Racing
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • NHL
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Panthers
    • Soccer
    • Schools
    • Duke
    • East Carolina
    • NC State
    • North Carolina
    • All Politics
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • State Politics
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • PolitiFact
    • PolitiFact NC
    • Rob Christensen
    • Under the Dome
    • All Business
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Health Care
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Shop Talk
    • Stocks Center
    • Technology
    • All Living
    • Video Now
    • Best-Kept Secrets
    • Blogs
    • Celebrations
    • Comics
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fitness
    • Food
    • Games and Puzzles
    • Home and Garden
    • Horoscopes
    • Mouthful
    • Past Times
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Video Now
    • Arts News
    • ArtsNow
    • Books
    • Contests
    • Dining
    • Entertainment
    • Games
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Television
    • On the Beat
    • Happiness is a Warm TV
    • All Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Dwane Powell
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Letters
    • Opinion Shop Blog
    • Other Views
    • Submit a Letter
  • Obituaries

    • Advertise with us
    • Place Ad
    • Apartments
    • Cars
    • Homes
    • Jobs
    • Legals
    • Obits/In Memoriams
    • Weddings
    • Today's Daily Deal
    • Special Sections
    • Today's Circulars
    • Rewards
    • Photo Store
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Legals

Living

'Rudo' doesn't have much kick

BY CRAIG D. LINDSEY - Staff Writer

    ORDER REPRINT →

August 07, 2009 02:00 AM

While watching "Rudo y Cursi," I was reminded of that time on "SCTV" when hack comic Bobby Bittman (Eugene Levy) introduced his younger, even hackier brother Skip (Rick Moranis) on an episode of "The Sammy Maudlin Show." The minute Bobby's little brother came out on stage, doing his bumbling, pathetic impressions and putting his big brother's business out on the street, it was embarrassing.

It got me wondering about the relationship between Alfonso Cuaron and his younger brother Carlos, who directed "Rudo." Now, I'm not saying that the Cuarons are hacks. (I'm certainly not calling Alfonso a hack; I've got some "Children of Men"-loving buddies who would hunt me down like a wild boar if I did.) But, from what I gathered, this is basically about a little brother trying pitifully to show up his big brother. And that's what happens in the movie, too.

Carlos even casts Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, who were the stars of Alfonso's breakout 2001 hit "Y Tu Mamá También" (which the Cuarons wrote together) as the dueling half-brothers in this movie. Luna is Beto and Bernal is Tato, two banana plantation workers from a little Mexican town who let off steam by playing local futbol, with Beto (nicknamed "Rudo" for his rude/rough style) as a goalie and Tato as a striker.

One day, a slick pro-soccer scout (Guillermo Francella) catches them on the field and gives them a chance to play professional ball in Mexico City. But there's one problem: He can take only one of them. When they decide via a penalty shot, Beto tells Tato to shoot "to the right," which he does. Unfortunately, Tato shoots the ball to his right, making Beto miss the score. So, Tato ends up going, leaving Beto, shall we say, less than supportive. But eventually the scout gets Beto to the big city to play for another team.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

As both Rudo and Tato (dubbed "Cursi" by the public, for his corny/cheesy style) become soccer stars, they get seduced by fame and fortune almost in record time. Rudo gets wrapped up in cocaine and gambling debt, and Cursi pathetically tries to start a singing career (he does a ridiculous Tejano cover of Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me") when he's not splurging on his sexy, game-show hostess girlfriend (Jessica Mas).

From what I've read, "Rudo y Cursi" is supposed to be a satire on present-day Mexico's "narco-society." But "Rudo" is such a nasty piece of work that it's quite difficult to find the biting humor in any of it. (There was one funny scene where Tato is cornered by fans who promise to tear him a new one if his team doesn't win, right before they ask him for an autograph.)

Nearly all the characters in this thing are mentally crippled by selfishness or greed or just plain old obnoxious. (All those people who thought "Observe and Report" was an ugly, ill-tempered movie should really see this, just so they can bask in the misanthropy.) It's as though Cuaron is blatantly putting the possible jealousy and resentment he has toward his older, more successful brother on blast. You can feel Cuaron's bitterness in every frame. It's like he has been taking filmmaking tips not from his optimistic brother, but from that cranky American Peter Berg.

And I've never seen a film go to such great lengths not to show its two lead actors playing soccer. Apart from some strategically shot scenes, Bernal and Luna play soccer the same way Jeff Bridges bowled in "The Big Lebowski," which is not at all.

It seems quite obvious that Carlos Cuaron wants to be seen in the same league as his brother and his visionary buddies Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu (who all share executive-producer credits on this movie). But it's probably gonna take a couple of more films for that to happen. Right now, with just "Rudo y Cursi" under his belt, he's just the Skip to Alfonso's Bobby.

Related stories from Raleigh News & Observer

HOMEPAGE

'Rudo y Cursi'

August 07, 2009 08:06 AM

  Comments  

Videos

Photojournalist José Galvez documents North Carolina’s growing Latino community

Missouri deputy rescues dachshund abandoned, bound up in duct tape

View More Video

Trending Stories

Bladen County operative ‘told us what we were to say’ at hearing, worker testifies

February 18, 2019 06:00 AM

How does UNC plan to defend Duke’s Zion Williamson? Roy Williams and players weigh-in.

February 18, 2019 05:08 PM

Operative at center of NC election fraud hearing won’t testify

February 18, 2019 02:16 PM

‘Bachelor’ recap, Week 7: Colton works out his trust issues with Caelynn and Cassie

February 18, 2019 10:04 PM

North Carolina will be without Sterling Manley for Duke game, Roy Williams says

February 18, 2019 05:39 PM

Read Next

Four day book festival puts spotlight on authors from NC and beyond

Books

Four day book festival puts spotlight on authors from NC and beyond

By Kasey Murphy

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 19, 2019 12:40 PM

The North Carolina Book Festival, four days of readings by authors from North Carolina and other areas, makes its way back to Raleigh after a five-year hiatus.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LIVING

What to Watch on Tuesday: New ‘At Home with Amy Sedaris’ season shows love for the Triangle

Entertainment

What to Watch on Tuesday: New ‘At Home with Amy Sedaris’ season shows love for the Triangle

February 19, 2019 07:00 AM

Fashion

Elizabeth Wellington: All this blackface makes me want to cancel high fashion

February 19, 2019 03:00 AM

Family

Ex-etiquette: Father texts daughter too much

February 19, 2019 03:00 AM

Family

Are teens getting high on social media? The surprising study seeking the pot-Instagram link

February 19, 2019 03:00 AM

Family

Ana Veciana-Suarez: Politicians scramble to explain bad behavior in old yearbooks, while I reminisce about the resiliency to improve my life

February 19, 2019 03:00 AM

Family

Lori Borgman: We said, –I do,– – they said we didn’t

February 19, 2019 03:00 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Raleigh News & Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Triangletoday.com
  • Legal Notices
Advertising
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Our Ads
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • N&O Store
  • N&O Photos
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Report News
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use


Back to Story