Great Film: The Mexican

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A Surprising delight; good comic performances, romantic nuggets, good sense of adventure. *** (out of four)

THE MEXICAN / (2001) *** (out of four

The title of Gore Verbinski's new romantic comedy adventure refers to the name of an extraordinarily valuable but cursed pistol possessed by a young man living in urban Mexico. Brad Pitt stars as Jerry Welbach, an errand boy forced to work for a local mob boss (Bob Balanban) after accidentally causing a powerful kingpin named Margolis (Gene Hackman) to be sent to jail. His "last" job is to go to Mexico and retrieve "The Mexican" and its beholder. Jerry's spiteful girlfriend, Samantha (Julia Roberts), wants Jerry to keep his promise about traveling to Las Vegas with her, but she does not realize that he can either accomplish this task or be killed. Since Samantha is such an understanding lover, she packs her bags and heads to Vegas alone, dumping her "selfish" long time boyfriend. Unfortunately for her, she is in the middle of a complicated situation whether she likes it or not. While traveling to her destination, Samantha is almost killed by a hitman (Sherman Augustus), but saved by another cold-blooded killer named Leroy (James Gandolfini), who has been assigned to kidnap her just in case Jerry gets any deceptive ideas while on his journey.

Once in Mexico, Jerry locates the person and the pistol, but things go terribly wrong when the man is accidentally killed and several locals steal his transportation. Becoming suspicious, Jerry's accomplice, Ted (J.K. Simmons), is sent to find Jerry and declare the rising stakes at hand. Meanwhile, Samantha and Leroy become emotionally candid and share useful information of their past experiences involving love. While Leroy is a homosexual, he still lusts for romantic fulfillment, as the sentimental killer gives Samantha some advice of her own.

"The Mexican" is not really a romantic comedy like many audiences will expect; it is a somewhat coarse, violent adventure with undertones dealing with forgiveness and the strength of love. Actually, the relationship between the characters of Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts is quite trite. Except for the third act, whenever on screen together, the two characters do nothing but bitterly argue and fight. The performances keep the romance alive; clearly Pitt and Roberts are the right choices for the parts. Brad Pitt progresses into a somewhat comedic role, and he often struggles with it. But I certainly thought his performance was funny. He gives his character the perfect amount of charm and sweetness. Julia Roberts is a little annoying but puts an effective edge in her character. We actually end up caring about both of their fates.

There are a lot of little things to like in "The Mexican" like the scenes in a Mexican bar, shuttered with a dark atmosphere and authentic cinematography by Dariusz Wolski; dim lights give the rooms a greenish tint, creating a realistic and believable mood for the scenes. The soundtrack furnishes the movie with a genuine zest. A lot of the dialogue is witty and smart, with scenes that are well-written, often funny, and keep our attention. The comedic elements keep the movie interesting and fresh. The film does an excellent job with informing us about the history of the pistol and the plot's complications are curiously intriguing. Leroy's homosexuality introduces relationship issues that give his character depth. Although often bloody and shockingly profane, "The Mexican" is not mean-spirited or nasty-but enlightening and whimsical.

The film is directed by Gore Verbinski, who also provided us with fast-paced entertainment in the 1997 family comedy "MouseHunt." "The Mexican" is much different from that film, but still has the energy and stride to keep us engrossed. Although not what many people will expect, I found "The Mexican" to be a surprising delight.

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