This movie is very nice-looking and very good-humored. But, being good-humored doesn't suggest it's funny. The only funny parts are the ones we see Renan Gioelli and Ailton Graça; although they don't have any scenes together. So let's see the story: Duca (Darlan Cunha, very sleepy), his father Laerte (Ailton Graça, excellent, but not brilliant), his mother Cleia (Dira Paes, nothing unusual), and his uncle Eder (Lazaro Ramos, not so good and supposedly the "male lead"), are all black. The story begins when Eder enters his brother's apartment (his brother is Laerte) and the first thing he says is "I killed a guy". Then the story introduces us to Duca's best friends: Kid (Renan Gioelli) and Isa (Sophia Reis). Duca secretly loves Isa. Isa secretly loves Kid. Kid doesn't hide from anyone that he loves all girls. During the movie--short movie, it has 80 minutes of picture, plus 5 of credits--we see Duca trying to "seduce" Isa--for lack of a better word--and how Isa and Kid help (or bother) Duce while he tries to solve his uncle's misunderstood story. There are some (weak) surprises as the movie goes and my favorite scene is the last, which is about two minutes long and shot in one shot. 'Course I won't tell what happens in this scene. In the DVD, there is a special feature, that shows the actors improvising their characters as if they were making a testimony for something, but in it they just comment the other characters by their point-of-view. Very funny. Then, there's the production part. The camera is clearly visible twice in the movie (both of them reflected in cars) and the score (not the songs) sometimes doesn't tie with the scene's thematic. But, hey, it's not just bad things. The editing is very precise (check out that scene where we see Éder exiting frame from left as the same Éder is entering frame from right). Art direction is nice. Costumes are very alike normal middle-class Brazilian teenagers. Jorge Furtado's directing is functional. Let's review the acting: Darlan Cunha--just bad; Sophia Reis--shows a lot of talent in her first feature; Renan Gioelli--particularly I think he's the best actor in the film; Ailton Graça--good supporting work; Dira Paes--nothing new; Lazaro Ramos--now, this guy is awful; Deborah Secco--she's as awful as Lazaro Ramos. But, the biggest problem in the film is the screenplay. It just doesn't get us excited.
Review of Meu Tio Matou um Cara
