A la mala (2015)

Powerful

An Exercise In Nonsense

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

This is a mixture of Hitch, The Ugly Truth and She's the Man. It's endearing and adorable with a great cast. Ala Mala (Maria Laura) is any woman out there trying to outsmart her heart and losing.Mauricio Ochmann aka Santiago deserved a lot more character development. It's started good but I guess Aislinn's character is the focus.So many of these actors are highly acclaimed Hispanic and Mexican stars that I enjoy watching.P.S. If you liked Ochmann's character and think about how he would look a little badass try El Senior de los Cielos or El Chema. He's AMAZING!

Overdone plot, the dialogue is the worst thing about this movie. Insipid, forced, unnatural, adds nothing to the movie, explains plot points as if its plot was convoluted or complex. The movie could have been a silent film and it would have been an improvement. Clichés abound in this movie and it seems it was shot and directed by a someone who has had experience only shooting medical commercials and a couple of music videos-- the look is sterile, the shots by-the-book, kinda boring, bland. Aislinn Derbez does what she can with what she was given. She's a looker, alright, gorgeous eyes. But acting, in general, in this movie is wooden and a bit cringe-worthy at times. There's little chemistry between the two main characters. Emphasis was placed on actors looking gorgeous and flawless (even when "crying"). The writer/s seemed to not know how to develop a story like this. Characters stay two- dimensional throughout the movie and their actions and reactions are inconsistent. I think that there are other better chick flicks you can invest your time watching. Not the worst movie ever, but it's not very good.

I am beginning to worry about Mexico, no, not talking about migrants, drugs, corruption, poverty, but its TV and film industry. Even worse than Bollywood, it seems to also offer little in terms of creative thoughtful storytelling as well as the acting to go along with it. This entertainment is just another form of their obsessively popular beauty pageants and wealth & image displaying Catholic Institutions just to pick two parallel examples. More of the same romance laced, peacock parading, monied caricatured themes pervasive in their TV & film. In other words this film, surprise surprise, had beautiful women, attractive males both displaying above average wealth and all playing the romantic hook up games with subsequent betrayals, dust-ups. The plot? An attractive female is hired by her friends, and through word of mouth & social media, others to entice their prospective mates into betrayal in order to test their commitment. Of course things go awry when one of those guy dogs actually loves (yes, it shows up) her.

I saw this Spanish language film with English subtitles yesterday with four other people. All of us rated this as a good film, and only three of five of us spoke Spanish, so I think anyone could enjoy the movie, even if one had to read the subtitles, which were very clear.As the film begins, it seems like a typical romantic comedy, and maybe it ultimately is, but the actors, the direction, the camera work, and the soundtrack combine to carry the film's all too familiar plot. Especially good are the lead actress herself(Aislinn Derbez)and the music soundtrack.I do wish there would have been more scenes that made the viewer aware that the film was taking place in its supposed setting, México City. There were a few shots, but the film almost gave the impression that it was taking place in the U.S., it looked so clean. But that is a minor detail.So overall, "A la Mala" is a solid romantic comedy from México. Check it out.