The Mexican (2001)

the leading man is my tpye

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

There are a few reasons this movie didn't resonate with the culture. 1. Stereotyping of the stars. When you pair two huge movie stars (Roberts & Pitt) this comes with baggage. People, especially Roberts fan want to see her in specific movies playing certain roles to make themselves feel better. Movies are an emotional art. Break this mold, and disappointment. Roberts playing in Oceans 11 brings her back to that safety/comfort zone. This role had F-bombs, violence, and Julia was less than glamorous. Women like to see their star in a pretty dress "red carpet" syndrome, but driving around with some guys in a 1974 El Camino on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.Pitt came out of Fight Club in 1999 and there was still a buzz about that. He doesn't do comedy much (and is good at it) so this was not really a guy flick per se. The casting of the two might be the big blunder but they worked well together IF people could let go.2. The Title. Titles and album covers count! Hang with me here...one of the best pop groups of the 70's was The Babys. Every Journey fan should love this band, but four guys named their band, The Babys! Great music, lousy name. The Mexican, even back in 2001, was weird. I felt a disconnect when I saw the poster driving. The Mexican--Brad Pitt & Julia Roberts...hmmmm. They should have called it The Pistol or The Magic Pistol or something else but The Mexican over a gun with a unique history. Fail. This was a relationship movie, a road trip movie, an escape movie to test a relationship! OMG...how could they not get that!3. No Internet back then...really. People make gut decisions to see a movie. That is why they have movie posters to advertise when you drive, a 2-3 second opportunity to capture your attention to make a decision. Hit or miss. Desire or pass. If the movie trailers had Brad Pitt in close-ups, shots of his pretty face, typical Hollywood fare to market, they should have gone this route to get people in the theater. This is really a movie about relationships and that always sells IF lame suits knew what they were doing which is incredible--all that effort to make a movie and the suits don't even know what it really is about working in the business sector of the "biz"This move also has a great B class of actors; James Gandolfini, Gene Hackman, a new character actor J.K. Simmons, Bob Balaban (people would recognize from a Seinfeld episode)Good movie--see it!

Gore Verninski's The Mexican is somewhat of an oddity. Verbinski is known for massive scale Hollywood epics, and this one has trappings of such a film, but instead takes an off kilter, unpredictably strange approach, through committed, idiosyncratic writing, and a dense, comic narrative that unfolds in such an odd manner you can't help but get invested in. Brad Pitt is a sheepish screw up as Jerry, a hapless low level gangster underling who is tasked with returning a priceless Mexican antique pistol to his bosses. The pistol, embedded in a tragic legend and believed to hold a curse, certainly seems to be troublesome McGuffin for our hero. Between his hapless ineptitude and the curse, he's led on madcap chase through the southern states and across the border to find the relic, transport it, and do right by his shady employers, who may just have it out to end him if he messes up one more time. Pitt, often the assured, confident leading man, has a Scrappy Doo esque, dishevelled side to his talents, which he uses to great effect here, laying a guy just this side of dumb, who is adorably trying to extricate himself from his situation. Julia Roberts plays his neurotic girlfriend Samantha, who doesn't approve of his line of work, and follows him on his looney odyssey, always one step behind. She crosses paths with a no nonsense hit-man played by James Gandolfini, giving the best performance of the film. His character, Winston Baldry, initially kidnaps Samantha, and gradually befriends her, the two of them forming a touching bond that provides the poignant moments of the film, rays of grounded seriousness in an otherwise glib enterprise. J.K. Simmons is priceless as an aloof, eccentric member of Pitt's organization, Bob Balaban is the unassuming yet scary ringleader, and there's a wonderful surprise cameo from an A lister near the end that I won't spoil. This is the type of film where the old adage "don't judge a book by its cover" comes into play. The cover suggests a light bit of romantic intrigue that focuses on the chemistry of its two star leads. Instead, they are separated for a majority of the film, and we are treated to a tongue in cheek, oddball romp with moments of surreal levity, real emotional beats that feel earned, and a slick, almost Elmore Leonard style story.

Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt) has to bring back a pistol called 'The Mexican' with a guy back from Mexico as his next job for the mob. His girlfriend Samantha Barzel (Julia Roberts) is sick of his mob jobs. He decides to go with the mob. Only Samantha gets kidnapped, and Jerry has a lot of difficulties delivering the cursed gun.I think they're suppose to be white trash characters. They're way too pretty. Having these two A-listers may not be the right move. And it doesn't quite work as a comedy. Both Pitt and Roberts try very hard to be wacky. Pitt especially try hard to be stupid. The story is idiosyncratic wallowing in its quirkiness. None of it is particularly funny. However James Gandolfini does take an interesting turn as the kidnapper.

The Mexican is a romantic comedy film that features Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts together with James Gandolfini,J. K. Simmons and an uncredited Gene Hackman.The screenplay has a plot that is an unusual mixture of romantic comedy and road movie.It was originally intended to be filmed as an independent production without major motion picture stars, but Roberts and Pitt, who had for some time been looking for a project they could do together, learned about it and decided to make it. It was directed by Gore Verbinski.In the story,a clumsy criminal is put in a position where he not only has to save his own skin, but that of his girlfriend in this comedy with strong undercurrents of romance. Jerry Welbach is a low-level Mafia "mechanic" whose ineptitude is countered by frequent bursts of dumb luck. Jerry's girlfriend Samantha wants him to get out of the business, and after his latest blunder lands capo Arnold Margolese in jail, so does mid-level crime kingpin Bernie Nayman. But Bernie insists that Jerry do one last errand for the mob before they let him find employment elsewhere -- he has to go to Mexico and recover a rare and very valuable pistol, which is said to be cursed. While Samantha objects to Jerry taking the assignment, he isn't in much of a position to argue; Jerry heads south of the border, while Samantha, in a huff, sets out for Las Vegas. Once in Mexico, Jerry finds the pistol easily enough, but making his way back to the States proves to be an unexpected challenge. Meanwhile, Jerry's superiors want insurance that he'll return with the goods, so they hire Leroy, a hit-man, to kidnap Samantha and hold her hostage until Jerry comes back. However, Samantha and Leroy quickly strike up a friendship, and she soon learns the gunman has a sensitive side he doesn't show to the world -- along with a few other secrets. The Mexican marked the first screen pairing for mega-stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt -- though, given the film's narrative arc, they play only a handful of scenes together.That made it less interesting just like the story - which was overbearing and boring at the same time.The comedy did not provide too many laughs and the romance between Jerry and Samantha was least interesting.Despite of the presence of the mega-stars,this is one movie that I mildly recommend as it falls short in entertainment.