Sometimes, I just don’t know where to begin with these reviews. There are bad movies, there are really bad movies, and then there are movies such as this. When it comes to DVD, extremely bad comedies are the lowest of the low. Bad dramas, horror films or love stories are usually only bad because they are tired and predictable. While that doesn’t make them any less annoying, at least they are comfortable. A bad comedy, however, goes beyond those other annoyances and creates something that is truly uncomfortable. It’s …ot just a poorly-made film, but it actually makes the viewer groan at how bad it is. This is an all-new level of suckage.
The plot of this bad movie is a simple one (of course); Mexicans throw a party. That’s about it. Oh, and there are “hot girls” (the majority of whom are not hot at all) that sometimes take their tops off for no apparent reason. There’s hardly enough material here to make a full movie. (In fact, as an interesting side note, the box lists the running time of the movie at 90 minutes, but a screening revealed that the time is actually closer to 70.)
This film strikes me as one of those experiments like The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, where the basic plot is set into motion, and the filmmakers’ were expecting the hilarity to happen naturally. Only, when the cameras started rolling, nothing happened. As a last resort, they had to turn to stealing entire set pieces from other films; most notably, American Pie. In this movie, however, instead of a pie being the amorous food item in question, this group of “La-teen-os” (as stated on the back of the box), use a taco for their sexual exploits. Ha. Ha. Ha.
Besides this “stroke of genius”, other jokes include a fat girl in a bikini, a fat man farting underwater and someone accidentally overcooking a hot dog while watching the fat girl in a bikini. Whoopty-freakin’ do.
Audio
Well, at least it’s not Mono. Dolby Digital 2.0 rules the day here, so there’s no need to bother turning on the audio components of your home theater system. Viewers are treated to a soundtrack with no bass, no highs… in fact, there is virtually no dynamic range whatsoever. Of course, there’s no score, either, so who needs a full mix?
Dialog is a bit muddy, but it’s not too terrible. The main problems seem to exist when the action is going on inside the house, as the large rooms make the actors’ voices echo. Also, some of the excruciatingly-bad accents (especially that of the cowboy) are hard to understand.
Video
The transfer on this disc is really bad news. The most offending feature is that the movie is presented in Full Frame. Not only does the text run off of the sides of the screen during the opening credits, but many actors’ faces are cut in half during tight shots throughout the disc. On more than one occasion, dialog from off-screen is coming from an actor that should be on-screen. There is no excuse for a movie being presented in this manner.
Of course, this is not the only problem with the picture. The edges on the text during the opening credits are fuzzy, and the whole movie seems to be slightly out of focus. Also, there are lots of blemishes on the screen, including scratches, pops, fuzz, and other unsightly problems with the negative. Dull colors and shaky camera work round out the regretful picture quality.
Special Features
Surprisingly, Lion’s Gate put some thought into the extras on this disc. Not a lot, mind you, but some. There is a trailer for the movie in question, as well as some for a few other similarly-themed films. Also included is a useless photo gallery as well as a commentary track. Finally, there is a 10-minute making-of featurette that includes some candid footage of the cast and crew, as well as a few brief interview segments. There is really not any new information included here, but it is a brief insight into what it was like to be present during the filming of the movie.
Final Thoughts
This disc should be avoided at all costs. It is insulting and stereotypical to Latinos, and it is offensive to anyone who has any knowledge of what a good film should look like. I appreciate that Lion’s Gate tried to beef up the disc with some extras, but with a film this bad, no amount of special features can make it right.
Special Features List
- Trailers
- Commentary
- Photo Gallery
- “Making-of…” Featurette
