As Cuarón's enjoyable film about brotherhood and the beautiful game zestfully points out, a block and a save are two sides of the same play.
Comment
05/08/09
Rudo and Cursi (2009)
73
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:102
Fresh:74
Rotten:28
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Despite its fair share of sports movie cliches, Rudo y Cursi marks an auspicious directing debut for Carlos Cuarón, and features strong performances from García Bernal and Luna.
Rated: R [See Full Rating]
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:May 8, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $1,746,295
Synopsis: Beto (Diego Luna) and Tato (Gael García Bernal) Verdusco are brothers who work at a banana plantation and also play soccer for the village team. Nicknamed “Tough” because of his personality and... [More]
Reviews for Rudo and Cursi
Top CriticThe material just isn't as fresh as the presentation.
05/15/09
He’s helped by charismatic, pleasingly ambivalent performances by all involved, and while a later penalty sequence is needlessly prolonged, it doesn’t diminish the film’s cumulative effect. Serious fun.
07/03/09
Rudo and Cursi has enough vitality to transcend its air of formula.
07/03/09
Never loses touch with its whipsmart core of integrity and humor.
05/13/09
Rudo y Cursi is appealingly tough and corny but contains little that causes these elements to congeal into anything greater.
05/14/09
The charismatic stars make this film pretty much a delight...
06/12/09
There are plenty of kicks: class struggle, wild crackups, Cheap Trick, occasional melodrama and lots of blackly comic moralizing on the lure and letdowns of modern Mexican celebrity.
05/14/09
Top CriticThe film, which is a huge hit in Mexico, is lightweight and often very funny, but there's a cruel edge to the laughs that left this viewer vaguely uncomfortable.
05/22/09
This isn't much more than a pleasant sports comedy and family drama hybrid, but it's surely entertaining. The very model of a summertime arthouse flick.
05/19/09
A cheeky viewing experience.
08/07/09
A banal examination of the rivalry of two brothers who play soccer and jeopardize their game through greed and selfishness and the quest for fame.
05/08/09
The air of jaunty vivaciousness is promising, but nothing sticks.
05/27/09
Rudo y Cursi is a grave and calculated affront to the men of Mexico, and that's the source of its roistering charm.
05/14/09
Top CriticIt’s a tale of two humble Mexican boys filmed with rough-around-the-edges production values and lots of energy, whose appeal will stretch to footie fans who wouldn’t normally park themselves in front of a subtitled film.
07/03/09
It’s satiric, yet Cuaron is like a boxer who prefers gentle sparring to throwing a knockout haymaker. The film needs to punch things up.
06/05/09
Apparently it’s a hit in Mexico, which shows a remarkably generous sense of humour, given that Cuaron leaves no one standing. It’s a funny movie but quite brutal.
07/31/09
Plagued with American sports-film clichés
05/07/09
This is a movie enlivened by the two stars’ goofy love-hate relationship, its all-pervasive cynicism and the film-maker’s mischievous decision to keep his eye off the ball.
07/03/09
...a good choice for the filmgoer who wants to think about the story rather than zone on the action of so many other sports films.
05/11/09
Latest News for Rudo and Cursi
June 28, 2009:
Edinburgh 2009: RT's 10 Must-See Movies
The Edinburgh Film Festival has come to a close and Rotten Tomatoes thought we'd make a traditional look back over all of the films playing at this year's fest and present to... More...
June 28, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Diego Luna
Diego Luna is bristling at RT's suggestion he pick just five favourite films. "It's really unfair to have to say only five films," he complains as he picks his final choice.... More...
June 28, 2009:
Five Favourite Films with Gael Garcia Bernal
Gael Garcia Bernal may be Mexico's best known acting export of recent years, having made a powerful debut in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Amores perros in 2000. A year later he... More...
June 26, 2009:
RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
Brother of Children Of Men helmer Alfonso Cuaron and Oscar-nominated screenwriter of sizzling Mexican roadtripper Y Tu Mama Tambien, Carlos Cuaron makes his directorial debut... More...
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