Cheap The Mexican (DVD) (Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts) (Gore Verbinski) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Mexican

Very weird but has its moments
Very odd but often entertaining comedy that features humorous performances from its stars, Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. A disappointing factor for those hoping to watch these two lovelies together is the fact that they hardly share any screen time together. After a very shaky start of watching this odd couple fight over a trip to Las Vegas (which are terribly acted, revealing either too little rehearsing or actors not actually performing scenes on the set together), the film gets going when Pitt is forced by a group of gangsters to whom he owes a favour to retrieve a supposedly cursed handcrafted gun from Mexico. While he is gone Roberts is kidnapped by a hitman (James Gandolfini) who is possibly one of her boyfriend's enemies. Most of the film is funny, but some twists and turns will feel so odd as to not actually be quirky but actually be very uncomfortable. Considering the mean tone the film has, it seems like a real let-down when the ending turns out to be much sappier then expected, and director Gore Verbinski can't seem to decide if he wants to actually make a grungy movie or show his actors up as gorgeous icons. A worthwhile, if halfhearted, effort.

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The Mexican a very flawed film with Pitt and Roberts
Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts star in this dark comedy/low budget action movie. ''The Mexican'' is about a guy named Jerry (Pitt) who works for a crime boss. One day the crime boss, asks Jerry for one last ''job'' before Jerry decides to quit working for him and pay of his debts. The ''job'' though isn't as easy as Jerry thinks it is. He is asked to find a rare gun that is worth alot of money in Mexico.

Jerry's girlfriend , a nieve and spoiled brat named Samantha (Roberts fits the role perfectly ) reacts to Jerry last job like a bat out of hell. She immediately tells Jerry that if he goes to this job that she will never take him back, and to not both coming to her. The character of Samantha is as shallow and mean as a woman can get, I almost get shivers down my spine when I think that women like Samantha exist, because they aren't worth fighting for.

What Samantha doesn't realize is that Jerry is doing this job for her out of love. Jerry wants to pay his debts , and to pay of this debts requires doing this job in Mexico.
Pitt while not being the charasmatic actor, does at least add some depth and character to Jerry.

Anyhow once Jerry arrives in Mexico (a pretty dangerous place in some areas, but enjoyable in others) meets his contact who is going to give the rare gun to him.

However, things go horribly wrong when the contact Jerry is with literally dies
in front of him during a midnight celebration in Mexico. Jerry at first does not know the guy is dead, until he notices the bloody headshot on the car seat where he places the body in!!! Uggh.

This is only the start of a bad situation for Jerry. Once Jerry's crime boss finds out that he has fowled things up (although it's not his fault this guy is dead) sends in a psychopath killer named Leroy (James Gandolfini ) to hold his girlfriend Sam as hostage, while Jerry tries to come back to his boss with the antique gun.

One of the big problems the Mexican is the load of unlikeable characters in the
film. Brad Pitt's character of Jerry is probably the only somewhat likeable character in the film. Julia Roberts (again in her usual uncharasmatic self) as Sam, doesn't really
show any love or compassion only up to the point where she herself becomes involved in Jerry's situation. She only really cares about herself.

Then there's Gandolifini's character who can be best characterized as self hypocriting homosexual, hitman. which in fact he is if you watch the whole film. Gandolfini is best known for playing the paranoid , lovable, and evil Tony Soprano in the Sopranos but his role in that overrated, and his role in this film is forgettable.

The Mexican is not a total waste of a film, although much of it is.

I loved the twists in the film that the Mexican's in the film, from the villages to the cops were smarter than the dumb gringo (Jerry) who comes to look for the ancient gun for his boss. In fact, the Mexican's gave me such a good laugh, that I thought they were probably the best actors in the film. Every stereotype that Jerry and his white crime buddies put on them is eventually thrown back in their face with big laughs.

That's all I can say, I won't spoil it though by going into the exact dialogue. The film also has a couple of good twists in the middle, and near the end. However, the Mexican though has so many problems with it, that keep it from leaving a lasting impression and making it a likeable film that I can't recommend buying.

Renting it though is a different matter, you'll probably get some good laughs from it like I did, but that's it.

As Roger Ebert would say ''Two Thumbs Down'' but give it a viewing however don't expect to be blown away by this low budget film because you wont.

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Good, Convuluted Story
I liked it. Lot's of people didn't, but for a Brad Pitt movie with my least favorite actress Julia Roberts, I found it highly entertaining. Some violence, some edge of the seat moments and some dark humor. Quite a tale.