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ramonnevarez
Reviews
Aída (2005)
The first true Spanish sitcom I've ever seen....
Being a Latino, who's a great fan of American sitcoms, I'm very pleased to be able to enjoy a real one for the first time in Spanish. And this is a true original Spanish sitcom in it's own right that has nothing to envy to the American or British ones. And they have achieved it without doing remakes or copying jokes and scripts.
I'm sick and tired of Latin American, especially Mexican, versions of American sitcoms that are only sanitized, watered down caricatures of the original ones. The Mexican or Argentinean versions of shows like "The Nanny", "Married With Children" or even the Mexican version of "Betty La Fea" just look like poor sketches for a cartoon show played by actors. Where's the originality?
Living in the US, it's amazing to be able to enjoy Aida on TV. Fortunately, the FCC does not go after US Spanish cable channels the way it goes after English media. Otherwise it's dialogues and subject matters would be mercilessly massacred and fined millions of dollars by the FCC. Aida have been able to portray their characters in a more authentic way American actors and writers could only dream of. It's also a peek of how much better US sitcoms could be if there wasn't so much puritan censorship in the US. In Latin America and the US it's all double meanings and euphemisms. In Europe they just tell it like it is.
The show has crated some great archetypes that may remind you of some our favorite US sitcom characters of all time but original in their own Spanish flair. Worth mentioning are:
-Aida's character working class antics. Is like a bit of "Roxanne", Carla from "Cheers" and Peg Bundy from "Married with Children" all in one.
-Her mother, Eugenia, has that delicious Mediterranean "dark humor" of Sofia from "Golden Girls"(although more crass), along with the gluttony and nosiness of Sylvia from "The Nanny".
-Mauricio is the neighborhood bar owner who's a loud, conniving, grouchy mama's boy in the Danny De Vito "Brooklyn Italian" tradition with a touch of "Archie Bunker's" political incorrectness. A racist opportunist chauvinist, who hates labor unions and environmentalists and is always trying to make an easy extra buck, even at the expense of taking advantage of women, friends and his poor illegal alien employees. But you got to love him.
-And Luisma, hilariously played by Paco Leon, an actor who has created a character that should be added to the best dimwits of all time like Woody from "Cheers", Jim from "Taxi" and Jeff from "Coupling". Luisma's constant pursuit of Paz, and Paz rejections, are as good as Sam Malone's pursuit of Rebecca in "Cheers". He's simply brilliant.
-On an interesting note, Fidel is the first openly gay teenage character I've ever seen on TV. Although played a bit campy by Eduardo Casanova, the show manages to deal with this delicate subject and portray the character in a respectful, non offensive way, with his struggles, dreams and desires. Chema, Fidel's loving single father who was abandoned by his adulterous wife, makes for some hilarious moments by being the only one in the neighborhood oblivious to his son sexuality.
Along with great production values and a catchy theme song, this show is definitely a must watch for all sitcom lovers. If you can't get it on TV, you may want to check it out on You Tube. They have all the seasons.
The Castle (1997)
This was a refreshing surprise
I happened to watch this movie because there wasn't anything else on TV I wanted to watch. I stumble on it on IFC by chance and boy was I pleasantly surprised.
Only Australians can portray working class with such respect and delicious country humor. Humor not as in your face like American hick humor, but more subtle and equally funny. You really have to listen to the dialogue and it's hilarious. Here's the big difference. American Films have a tendency to either mock and ridicule the working class or make this Mickey Mouse hero out of them that does impossible and extraordinary things. However, in this film, you can enjoy the idiosyncrasies of the working class, their struggles, realities and dreams. The hero isn't a hero, just a simple guy who perseveres by putting his trust on people to help him keep the things he values the most. His only extraordinary achievement is to keep true to his values and avoid being someone he's not.
I don't understand how some people can say you got to be Australian to understand their humor. I'm a Latino, Spanish is my first language and got it from the start. Of course, I had to watch it with English subtitles because I had a little trouble with the accent. Maybe Americans should watch it with subtitles too. Maybe they don't get the humor because they don't understand some words from that region.
This is a perfect example of how you only need a good script and great actors to make a good film. Not big budgets or big stars. Maybe Hollywood should take some notes.