RBR: Casa de mi Padre

Try to follow me on this one...Casa de mi Padre is a Spanish langauge film (with subtitles) about a pair of brothers trying to take over their father's estate while dealing with a murderous drug dealer that stars Will Ferrell. The film uses a standard Mexican melodrama plot while parodying the genre. OK, now if you're still with me, then it's likely that you'll want to check out this movie. This is one of those high-concept, lowbrow films that will only speak to a very small portion of the population. I can appreciate what they were going for here and give Ferrell a lot of credit for choosing such an anti-mainstream picture. With that said, the film pulls its punches. Yes it mocks the cheesy visual effects typically seen in these films and contains endless songs that may or may not be connected to the story, but ultimately it's too respectful of the genre to truly be considered a parody while being too irreverent to actually pay homage. A film like this certainly works better on the small screen as it feels like an extended SNL skit. The film has it's share of laughs but in the end you feel somewhat ambivalent and confused as to what you actually saw. If you're willing to put up with reading for 85 minutes, then you may want to give this a rental but the film is so inconsequential that you won't be missing anything if you opt to skip it. Rating: ***