| Rudo y Cursi | |
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Original Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | Carlos Cuarón |
| Produced by | Alfonso Cuarón Alejandro González Iñárritu Guillermo del Toro |
| Written by | Carlos Cuarón |
| Starring | Gael García Bernal Diego Luna Guillermo Francella |
| Music by | Leoncio Lara |
| Cinematography | Adam Kimmel |
| Editing by | Alex Rodríguez |
| Studio | Cha Cha Cha Films Focus Features Universal Studios |
| Distributed by | Universal Studios Sony Pictures Classics |
| Release date(s) | December 19, 2008 |
| Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
| Box office | $11,091,868[1] |
Rudo y Cursi (Spanish, literally, "Rude and Tacky") is a 2008 Mexican film starring Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal and Guillermo Francella. It is directed by Carlos Cuarón (Alfonso Cuarón's brother) and produced by Cha Cha Cha Films (production company created by Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu). It is Carlos Cuarón's first full-length movie — previously he had directed only short films.
The movie is a drama/comedy about two brothers from a rural lower class Mexican family with roots in a little "banana town" on the Pacific coast of Mexico who compete in their professional soccer careers. They acquire (involuntarily) the nicknames "Rudo" ("rude", "uncouth" or "tough") and "Cursi" ("tacky" or "corny"). The film is also a satire on life and values in contemporary Mexico's "narco-society".
Rudo y Cursi is the sixth top-grossing Mexican film of all time.
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In the fictional farming village of Tlachtlán, in the Cihuatlán Valley of Jalisco, Mexico, young men dream of escaping the drudgery of the banana plantations. Two of them, a pair of half-brothers, play in local soccer matches. Tato (Gael Garcia) is the star striker and Beto (Diego Luna) is the eccentric goalkeeper. During one match they are spotted by a talent scout (Guillermo Francella) and he offers one of them the opportunity to go to Mexico City with him and try out for one of the country's big teams. As the scout's roster is already full, he says he can only take one of the brothers and they decide to settle it on a penalty shot. Tato scores the penalty against his brother therefore earning the right to head to the capital.
After a slow start Tato finally makes it big and earns the nickname 'Cursi' ("Tacky"). His brother soon follows and joins a rival team where he is given the nickname 'Rudo' ("Rude"). Cursi becomes a national hero and starts dating Maya Vega (Jessica Mas), a famous model, whilst his brother struggles with life in the city and misses his family back home.
Things start to go worse for the brothers. Tato loses both his woman and his goal scoring touch while his brother gets lured into a world of cocaine and gambling. It becomes clear that the drug cartels own everything. Their sister back home marries the local drug lord, Don Casimiro, whose far-reaching tentacles eventually affect the whole family. Everything finally depends upon one match as the two brothers come face to face. Cursi is threatened with demotion to Division 2 if he fails to score in this match; Rudo must throw the match in order to pay off his gambling debts or he will be killed. In the last minute Rudo saves a penalty from Tato and the match finishes goalless. Cursi quits football and returns home, and Rudo is shot, losing a leg and ending his career. They both end up back in Tlachtlán with their family where the simpler lifestyle seems to better suit them.
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Carlos Cuarón first formed the idea for the film while on a promotional tour for Y tu mamá también. He initially planned for only one character, but later decided to include a brother.[2]
Principal photography began in summer 2007 in Cihuatlán, Mexico. The banana plantation where the brothers work in the film is actually owned by the Cuarón family. For his role Bernal wore blonde extensions to lengthen his hair while Luna dyed his hair black and grew a mustache to play the older brother. Additional filming took place in México City and Toluca.[2]
The character of Don Casimiro is based loosely on drug lord Miguel Caro Quintero.
Rudo y Cursi released on December 2008 in Mexico. It premiered internationally at the April 2009 San Francisco International Film Festival and was screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival. It was released generally, on a limited basis, on May 8, 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 25, 2009.
Rudo y Cursi was very successful at the box office. It became the sixth top grossing Mexican movie of all time.[3] In its first two weeks in the US, it earned $738,706 on 219 screens.[4] It eventually grossed $9,264,208 in overseas earnings, bringing its worldwide total to $11,091,868.[1]