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CASA DE MI PADREMovie Reviews
Spanish and English language comedy about two brothers whose attempt to save their father's ranch leaves them at war with Mexico's most feared drug lord. Cast:Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Genesis RodriguezDirector:Matt PiedmontRelease Date:March 16, 2012DVD Release:July 17, 2012From:Pantelion FilmsRating:RLength:1 hr 24 min
Casa de mi Padre played in national release to mixed reviews. • James Berardinelli wrote for Reel Views, "Whatever Will Ferrell may or may not be, one can never accuse him of lacking balls." • And Rene Rodriguez wrote in the Miami Herald, "The film's silliness tickles you. But without Ferrell's ability to improvise his dialogue on the spot, the stretches of exposition are dull... a bold experiment..." More Reviews Below...
Casa de mi Padre Positive Reviews (40 Reviews, reviews below)
Mary Pols, Time: WEAK "No es bueno.... About five minutes of this mercifully short 84 minutes would make a nice sketch on Ferrell's Funny or Die. The rest tends to the tedious..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 686 words, 03/16/12
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...the premise, which would have been just fine as a sketch, feels as if it's been stretched awfully thin to fill an entire feature."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 256 words, 03/15/12
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...quirkily engrossing. Ferrell is a good straight actor for the same reason that he's an inspired comedian: He commits himself to every moment."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 278 words, 03/16/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...decidedly offbeat and absurdly daffy.... Ferrell's Spanish is amazingly good, and the over-the-top melodramatic story, written by Andrew Steele, is ridiculously funny..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 423 words, 03/16/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...fitfully amusing and I have the sense that Spanish-speaking audiences will like it more than I did, although whether they'll be laughing with it or at it, I cannot say."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 03/16/12
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: POOR(cg) "...almost unwatchably awful.... essentially a one-joke movie... The movie ostensibly parodies... well, I'm not quite sure what it parodies, actually."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 608 words, 03/15/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: VERY GOOD(cg) "Whatever Will Ferrell may or may not be, one can never accuse him of lacking balls.... has a lot of fun with the conventions of the Grindhouse genre..."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 918 words, 03/13/12
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Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "...the editing-glitch style of humor is half-assed. (Har-har, a scene of a coyote attack is missing; triple har, there are some scratchy skips between scenes.)"(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 279 words, 03/16/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a goofy mix of cornball earnestness, telenovela melodrama and magical realism... the laughs, though sometimes inspired, are too few and far between."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 569 words, 03/16/12
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "...diverting for a while.... an exercise -- and to those who find it more clever than I do, a valid one -- in tone-funny, as opposed to joke-funny."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 321 words, 03/16/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...fitfully amusing and I have the sense that Spanish-speaking audiences will like it more than I did, although whether they'll be laughing with it or at it, I cannot say."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 473 words, 03/16/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...smuggles in rude social criticism, as when Armando memorably describes drug-addicted Americans as 'shit-eating crazy monster babies.' "(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 03/14/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "The pic is poking fun at stuff that is poking fun at stuff that began as cheap fun. By now, that's a lot of poking for a little fun."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 456 words, 03/16/12
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: POOR(cg) "...it's hard to imagine exactly what Will Ferrell saw in the role.... it's often hard to tell the difference between when it's making fun of bad movies and when it's being one."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 364 words, 03/16/12
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "Will Ferrell is a native speaker. Not in Spanish - the language he comically shows some command of in 'Casa de Mi Padre' - but in the language of lowbrow parody."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 451 words, 03/16/12
Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...the movie is funny because of just how commendable Ferrell's Spanish is.... When you expect the film to go in one direction, it goes off in another."(See all of Randy Cordova's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 485 words, 03/16/12
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "...a solid short film stretched to Silly Putty thinness.... it's like one of the fake coming attractions from Tarantino's 'Grindhouse' that doesn't know when to quit..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 491 words, 03/16/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: WEAK(cg) "...the entire project is dead on arrival.... much of the movie is a jumble, as thrown together as a bad cantina's combination plate."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 493 words, 03/16/12
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...you can always count on Ferrell to push each joke about 30 seconds past the point of normalcy. And you can always count on him to be weird."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 390 words, 03/16/12
Roger Moore, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Ferrell commits corazon y alma (heart and soul)... no plot twist is too far-fetched, no emotion is played halfway.... in this casa, set in this tierra, the players are all in."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 491 words, 03/16/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The film's silliness tickles you. But without Ferrell's ability to improvise his dialogue on the spot, the stretches of exposition are dull... a bold experiment..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 462 words, 03/16/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (9 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...smuggles in rude social criticism, as when Armando memorably describes drug-addicted Americans as 'shit-eating crazy monster babies.' "(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 03/14/12
Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: WEAK(cg) "...lets the likes of Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna cut loose and be funny in their native language, and for every 10 jokes that bomb, there's usually one that hits."(See all of Katey Rich's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 558 words, 03/15/12
Monica Castillo, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an unorthodox entry in the stoner comedy-fauxsploitation genre... Certainly more enjoyable if you're up to speed with your Spanish slang."(See all of Monica Castillo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 141 words, 03/15/12
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "...at 83 minutes, it never wears out its welcome. It's slight but savvy enough to know exactly how far to stretch a thin but ultimately clever conceit."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 346 words, 03/15/12
Michelle Orange, Movieline: MODERATE(cg) "For a movie with a comedic premise this simple - essentially: can you believe we made a movie with a premise this simple? - it can feel pretty exhausting."(See all of Michelle Orange's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 626 words, 03/15/12
Diego Costa, Slant: POOR(cg) "...its humor is built on the reiteration of the notion that Mexicans are helplessly uncivilized in dire need for a blue-eyed American to save them from themselves."(See all of Diego Costa's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 03/13/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: EXCELLENT(cg) "A little bit Mel Brooks, a little bit 'Airplane!': subtle humor that slips under your radar instead of bashing you over the head... best appreciated by movie geeks..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 349 words, 10/09/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a goofy mix of cornball earnestness, telenovela melodrama and magical realism... the laughs, though sometimes inspired, are too few and far between."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 569 words, 03/16/12
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...gets funnier as it goes along, especially if you're paying enough attention to notice the constant continuity errors, editing glitches, mismatched musical cues..."(See all of Andrew O'Hehir's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,149 words, 03/16/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...this amiably straight-faced spoof of soap/horse operas doesn't deliver enough consistently funny business to sustain its 'Tombstone'-on-Telemundo conceit."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 950 words, 03/12/12
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a mirthful feel emanates from this melodrama parody simply by virtue of Will Ferrell's turn as the slow-witted, black-sheep member of a Mexican ranch family..."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 694 words, 03/12/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a goofy mix of cornball earnestness, telenovela melodrama and magical realism... the laughs, though sometimes inspired, are too few and far between."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 569 words, 03/16/12
21.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Casa de mi Padre's reviews are separated by an average 21.6 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Casa de mi Padre (40 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Casa de mi Padre's reviews cover 81.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 19,061 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 476 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Casa de mi Padre Coverage, Volume & Length (40 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 4.4 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Casa de mi Padre's reviews on average broke 4.4 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Casa de mi Padre's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Casa de mi Padre (40 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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