muffiemae
Quirky, goofy, satirical. Will Ferrell was perfect, and so was his Spanish. He actually spoke Spanish; it wasn't dubbed in.This was one of the funniest laugh-out-loud and feel-good movies I've seen in a long time!
TheFunkyBass
We start out good with an Oscar-worthy theme song performed by Christina Aguilera. The soundtrack is pretty good in general. But the film goes down from then on...The budget must've been really low since many of the locations are models and stages. But at least they make fun of their low quality, like in the White Cat sequences.The scenes are overacted, sometimes decent, but at least it was intentional since it was made in soap opera style. Amazingly, Will Ferrell can speak Spanish very fluently. Nick Offerman's Spanish was OK.The story is boring, it only becomes interesting in the wedding scene and on forth which is the 2nd half of the movie. I think what most ruined the movie was the extremely cheesy love story. I guess it's justified since it's basically a soap opera. Besides who wouldn't fall for the lovely Sonia played by the Genesis Rodriguez? This is one of the toughest movies I've had to rate. It had to go down between a 5/10 (Meh) and a 6/10 (OK). So I officially rate it 5.5/10
Tehmeh
There is something hilarious about a film where Will Ferrell stares passionately and speaks Spanish.I'm not always a fan of Ferrell, but here the guy is funny as hell. The best part is that he doesn't even tell jokes. On the contrary, he's almost overdramatical to a point where silliness abounds. And that's probably the thing that either makes the movie for you or turns you away from it. Think of it as fun and care-free satire combining spaghetti westerns, Spanish soap operas and crime movies about drugs. In "Casa de mi padre", you find lots of shoddy sets, fake animals, dolls, R-rated violence, smoking and songs. I absolutely loved the songs! This is a weird combination of elements and felt so fresh. I could not help but get into a good mood. Add the most ridiculous love-making scene I remember seeing, and we got ourselves something special.This movie has problems though. As much as I love the fake outlook and silly approach, they kind of messed it up at some parts. Sometimes when they try to actually make a visual "so fake and ridiculous that it's funny"-joke, the joke lingers too long or is shoved in your face, thus losing some potential. When it works it's great and even pretty intelligent, and when it doesn't it seems like the movie is pandering to children in a "here's the joke! get it?"-manner. Also, some characters had the potential to be funny (Nick Offerman) but they ended up being something less.The whole cast is good and funny enough, and Ferrell gets two thumbs up, but Genesis Rodriguez was outstanding. She wasn't only outrageously beautiful, she had a certain edge to her performance. I really enjoyed it. She might have a great career ahead of her.When you watch this film, don't expect a typical comedy. Don't expect a "Hangover 11". Don't also expect a Lebowskian masterpiece, but something intentionally shoddy and funny in its own weird way. And Will Ferrell speaking/singing in Spanish, of course.
Andrew Pelechaty
While some may argue that Will Ferrell hasn't had a hit since 'Anchorman', he's not afraid to try new things.'Casa de mi Padre' (House of my Father), is Ferrell's good-natured parody of Mexican melodramas/soap operas. Ferrell plays Armando, the lowly brother of drug dealer Raul, who falls for his brother's gorgeous fiancée Sonia.Ferrell speaks Spanish – along with the predominately Mexican cast – to deliver a story of love betrayal, brotherhood, family, drug dealing and bloodshed. The deliberately clichéd plot runs second to the films' embracing of its low-fi effects, slow-motion fight scenes, coarse language, mannequins, animatronic animals and continuity errors. One scene involving a graceful white lion and a coyote is interrupted by a long explanation of the chaos caused by the filming of the scene.While not as memorable as some of Ferrell's best films, you have to admire Ferrell for trying something new, as well as the films' willingness to embrace its flaws, which adds to the laughter.
AD
