Casa De Mi Padre

Over the years Will Ferrell has made some shockingly bad films. Can a comedy that is mostly in the Spanish language remind audiences of what they liked about this amusing Anchorman?

The story revolves around Armando Alvarez (Ferrell), the son of a rancher and idiot of the family. When his big brother, Raul (Diego Luna) returns home, their father Miguel (Pedro Armendáriz Jr. is delighted to see him. But Raul is not alone, as he brings with him his delightful new fiancé, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). Armando discovers Raul has become a drug trafficker and is seeking to take over the land from Onza (Gael García Bernal), who has controlled the area for many years. With his family’s honour to protect, Armando must fight to survive and at the same time find the woman of his dreams.

It is a bold move for a Hollywood star like Ferrell to not only make a foreign language comedy, but also to make a western in a Grindhouse style. Unfortunately, as with every recent Grindhouse influenced film, it falls short, but that is not to say that it doesn't have entertaining moments.

Saturday Night Live’s Matt Piedmont’s film is filled with abrupt cuts and edits, deadpan punchlines, never-ending studio backdrops and animatronic animals. The look of the film is great, but the plot is a mix of spoof and melodrama, which does not work. What writer Andrew Steele has written is essentially nothing more than a clever ten-minute sketch that has been stretched into a full-length feature.

Ferrell's performance is impressive, but his fantastic supporting Spanish-speaking cast, namely Bernal, Luna and relative newcomer Rodriguez steal every scene from him. The chemistry between Bernal and Luna works exceptionally well but there are not enough of these scenes throughout the film.

This is a gallant effort and certainly the best film Ferrell has been in for a while, but when an animatronic mountain lion proves to be the most memorable character, the opportunity has been clearly missed.