I went into Casa de mi Padre just looking forward to a new Will Ferrell performance and wasn’t expecting to laugh-out-loud, so I enjoyed the chuckle-worthy telenovela spoof that came in large part from sight gags relating to the set. The film, in Spanish, is the feature directorial debut from the Emmy award winning SNL writer alum, Matt Piedmont with the screenplay written by another SNL Emmy award winner, Andrew Steele.
Armando (Will Ferrell) is the dim-witted son of a prominent Mexican rancher. His successful brother, Raul (Diego Luna), returns with a beautiful new girlfriend, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez), and the brothers are soon mixed up in a war with the drug lord, la Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).
Even if you’re not familiar with telenovela, it’s easy to pick up on the spoofing, especially of the sets. Lots of wide shots are shown on location, but for close ups, intentionally fake-looking sets are used and contrast the usually serious scene. Although funny, it was only worth a chuckle and grin, and eventually lost most of it’s charm near the end.
Watching Will Ferrell as Armando, it’s easy to see how the other side of his delivery, his facial expressions, contribute to his talent. Without over-exaggerating, he knows just how far to take a scene. Supporting Ferrell are a number of talented actors, two of which are Armando’s friends, Esteban (Efren Ramirez, Napoleon Dynamite) and Manuel (Adrian Martinez, CBS’ A Gifted Man). However, they are completely underused, and end up only being in part of the film. Such a shame. I could have sworn I’d seen Genesis Rodriguez (actress playing Sonia) in other films, but Man on a Ledge (released earlier this year) and Casa de mi Padre are her first features. She’s a talented actress and reminds me of the early work of 
Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The main characters of the film include two generally more dramatic actors, Armando’s brother, Raul, Diego Luna (Contraband, Milk) and la Onza, Gael Garcia Bernal (The Loneliest Planet, The Motorcycle Diaries). The two, who were both born in Mexico, bring a great level of authenticity to their characters and are surprisingly funny. It’s always wonderful to see dramatic actors try comedic roles and I’m hoping this will broaden the types of characters they play in the future.
As soon as Nick Offerman (21 Jump Street, NBC’s Parks & Recreation) comes onscreen as DEA Agent Parker, the bar was set high to make me laugh. Although his performance was funny, the dialogue was forced and not necessarily as hilarious as one would hope. He’s starting to get type-cast as the same personality as his Parks & Recreation character, and should probably do something different before he jumps the shark.
Learning Spanish for the role, Will Ferrell still translates to funny. It’s likely to disappoint those expecting non-stop laughter, but I can see it getting more of a following in years to come.
Rating: Worth seeing if you’re a Will Ferrell fan, just don’t expect a barrel of laughs. 6/10
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