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RUDO Y CURSIMovie Reviews
Comedy drama about the love/hate relationship shared between two professional soccer-playing brothers. Cast:Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Guillermo FrancellaDirector:Carlos CuarónRelease Date:May 8, 2009DVD Release:August 25, 2009From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:1 hr 43 min
Rudo y Cursi played in key cities to very good reviews. • David Ansen wrote in the Newsweek, "Hilarious, satirical and melancholy... may not go as deep as 'Y Tu Mamá También,' but it has a similar vivacity.... one of the year's most memorable offerings." • And Claudia Puig wrote in USA Today, "...an undeniably entertaining rags-to-riches-to-rags comedy." More Reviews Below...
Rudo y Cursi Positive Reviews (41 Reviews, reviews below)
David Ansen, Newsweek: OUTSTANDING "Hilarious, satirical and melancholy... may not go as deep as 'Y Tu Mamá También,' but it has a similar vivacity.... one of the year's most memorable offerings."(See all of David Ansen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 277 words, 05/18/09
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a sly miniaturist pleasure on its own terms, a piquant fable about the bouncing ups and downs of success, failure, competition, and comradeship."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 247 words, 05/08/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "...enormously hackneyed in concept yet surprisingly enjoyable in execution, thanks to some amusing, surreal details and the genuine camaraderie of Luna and Bernal."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 05/07/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...more raucous and slight than the contemplative 'Y Tu Mama,' but it is an undeniably entertaining rags-to-riches-to-rags comedy."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 418 words, 05/08/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "...lively and engaging... it also, in the end, feels a little thin, largely because it is unsure of how earnestly to treat its own lessons about fate, ambition and brotherly love."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 777 words, 05/08/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "Luna and Bernal have amiability, but not enough to earn a recommendation for this clichéd movie, from co-producers del Toro, Iñárritu and Cuarón."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 143 words, 05/08/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...not a deep movie, but it's a broad one.... the sort of high-level buddy movie every national cinema needs for export -- along with its masterpieces, to be sure."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 689 words, 05/14/09
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...pulses with life... a kind of travelogue of ambition and loserdom, from the rural clarity of a dirt pitch to the dangerous allure of the literal and figurative green."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 399 words, 05/08/09
Stephen Cole, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...why does it have to be such a broad comedy?... a lazy comedy that is content telling a crude and corny Hollywood story with a Mexican accent."(See all of Stephen Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 538 words, 05/22/09
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "At once smooth and frantic, filled with cozy clutter and vulgar jive, the movie subsumes its moralizing in frat-house entertainment."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 606 words, 05/06/09
Gray Beltran, Orange County Register: VERY GOOD(cg) "Based on their performances, García Bernal and Luna can clearly identify with the characters they portray, as well as the disorientation of sudden fame."(See all of Gray Beltran's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 508 words, 04/26/09
Heriberto Gonzalez-Andino, La Opinion: EXCELLENT(cg) "...un divertido drama-comedia que, a pesar de desarrollarse en las canchas del fútbol, toca una variedad de temas que tocan a la sociedad mexicana contemporánea."(See all of Heriberto Gonzalez-Andino's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 389 words, 05/08/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...writer-director Carlos Cuarón is just shuffling through every sports-movie cliché in the book without understanding how any of those clichés might be used to propel his story."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 165 words, 05/21/09
KEY CITIES (15 Reviews)
Dan Zak, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "...enjoyable but forgettable... doesn't come close to the hot-blooded brilliance of 'Y Tu Mam Tambin,' which launched the Mexican actors to global renown in 2001."(See all of Dan Zak's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 372 words, 05/15/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...you have to admire García Bernal's performance; he goes all out with the serio-comic dingbat egotism. Luna, meanwhile, telegraphs fixed gloom and wavering purpose..."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 584 words, 05/15/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...the sheer force of personality and performances combines to overtake problems inherent with the story... a different kind of examination of fame..."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 506 words, 05/15/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...has a giddy, breakneck nuttiness about it. Bernal and Luna don't exactly play it for laughs - their characters face a series of daunting opportunities and dilemmas..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 463 words, 05/29/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a grave and calculated affront to the men of Mexico, and that's the source of its roistering charm.... the performances are engaging, and Luna's a standout..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 728 words, 05/15/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "There's so much going on that it feels like a half-dozen movies in one.... The satire is pointed and a bit heartbreaking, softened by the evident sympathy Cuaron feels for the characters."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 349 words, 05/29/09
John Hartl, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "...comes off as neither homage nor satire. It's just toothless. When a gun is introduced at a family gathering, apparently to settle an argument, the threat seems contrived."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 424 words, 05/22/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...the sort of film that sneaks serious themes and emotions in just when you think it's about to dissolve into farce. Small but largely satisfying."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 181 words, 05/15/09
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "...never quite figures out what it wants to be. Is it a sports comedy? A tale of sibling rivalry? A look at Mexico's gritty underbelly, set against a soccer backdrop?"(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 06/19/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a playful Spanish-language riff on the standard-issue sports drama, that journey from hunger to glory and fame, to drugs, loose women and gambling..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 05/29/09
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "...fierce, profane and hilarious... Cuarón doesn't hesitate to mock his yokels, but he's also affectionate with them, and so are we."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 494 words, 05/22/09
Carla Meyer, Sacramento Bee: VERY GOOD(cg) "Cuarón's filming style is so lively, and Luna and García Bernal's performances so full of energy, that the picture is fun even when it probably shouldn't be."(See all of Carla Meyer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 05/15/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: WEAK(cg) "Even when the movie's tone is antic, the action is leaden.... With brief pops of wit followed by endless dribbles of action, the film just about defines the word 'fizzle.' "(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 531 words, 05/29/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...fresh. This is not a story of vexed border crossings but of the bumpy sojourn from the hinterlands to 'the show,' as we could call the world's No. 1 sport."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 539 words, 05/15/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "At once smooth and frantic, filled with cozy clutter and vulgar jive, the movie subsumes its moralizing in frat-house entertainment."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 606 words, 05/06/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "...rowdy, ramshackle... Luna and García Bernal display the kind of chemistry that makes you overlook the clichés... Sometimes good-natured fun is enough."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 175 words, 05/15/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "Alternately as crude and prissy as the title suggests... avoids any real comedy and drama by means of Guillermo Francella's inescapable and pedantic voiceover."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 05/14/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR(cg) "...writer-director Carlos Cuarón is just shuffling through every sports-movie cliché in the book without understanding how any of those clichés might be used to propel his story."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 165 words, 05/21/09
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: EXCELLENT "Bernal makes Cursi an amiable doofus... Luna won't be anyone's idea of a tough guy, but his Rudo has a temper that helps the comedy go darker than it otherwise might."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 131 seconds, 05/09/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "...lively and engaging... it also, in the end, feels a little thin, largely because it is unsure of how earnestly to treat its own lessons about fate, ambition and brotherly love."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 777 words, 05/08/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...a comedy of substance -- in Spanish with English subtitles -- that feels as casual as a pickup game played on a dirt field.... You'd never know this was a debut film."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 05/08/09
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...pulses with life... a kind of travelogue of ambition and loserdom, from the rural clarity of a dirt pitch to the dangerous allure of the literal and figurative green."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 399 words, 05/08/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
John Anderson, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...powered by football, delirious vulgarity and pure personality.... scores a solid goal for its national cinema and the cause of comedy."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 583 words, 01/20/09
Duane Byrge, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...a universal entertainment buoyed by Cuaron's gifted storytelling and realized by the charismatic lead performances of Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal."(See all of Duane Byrge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 425 words, 01/17/09
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "...pulses with life... a kind of travelogue of ambition and loserdom, from the rural clarity of a dirt pitch to the dangerous allure of the literal and figurative green."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 399 words, 05/08/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "...lively and engaging... it also, in the end, feels a little thin, largely because it is unsure of how earnestly to treat its own lessons about fate, ambition and brotherly love."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 777 words, 05/08/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: EXCELLENT "...a comedy of substance -- in Spanish with English subtitles -- that feels as casual as a pickup game played on a dirt field.... You'd never know this was a debut film."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 05/08/09
17.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Rudo y Cursi's reviews are separated by an average 17.1 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.
Rudo y Cursi (41 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Rudo y Cursi's reviews cover 77.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 17,143 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 418 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 3 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Rudo y Cursi's reviews on average broke 3 days 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 Rudo y Cursi's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Rudo y Cursi (41 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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