Fresh and Exciting

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

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!

"Lovable" loser Brad Pitt is forced by gangsters to head south of the border to retrieve a cursed antique gun known as "The Mexican," while hit-man James Gandolfini kidnaps Pitt's girlfriend Julia Roberts for insurance.The Mexican, some unholy combination of romantic comedy, edgy violence, and Quentin Tarantino-esque tomfoolery succeeds at none of these things, despite featuring Pitt and Roberts at the height of their popularity. In fact, the film is so tonally uneven, muddled and unpleasant to watch that it is impossible to ascertain what attracted these performers to it.Director Gore Verbinski has neither the light touch or off-beat flare to make anything we see take flight...unless it is the viewer from the theater. Full disclosure, I nearly made it to the end of this turkey before my party finally threw in the towel and left.Much of the problem with the film is that it seems to believe that we have some sympathy for the Pitt and Roberts characters and are rooting for them to safely be reunited. Alas, we don't. When we first meet them, Pitt is a pathetic pantywaist being bullied by his mob acquaintances and Roberts, and Roberts is light years beyond shrill in an atypically charmless performance. Their opening scenes are basically Roberts shrieking at Pitt like a nagging fishwife and Pitt stomping around in a petulant put-upon snit. We are glad when they separate (although even singularly they are unpleasant company) and actually do NOT wish for them to reunite safely. Your film has a major problem when the central couple is so off-putting that you hope they never reunite.Worse, the film's badly directed incidences of pseudo-slapstick give way to very brutal (and very real) passages of unwelcome violence that seem to come from another film entirely.The passages with Roberts and Gandolfini are near excruciating because she simply won't shut up and keeps yammering. Gandolfini, The Sopranos over-feted one-trick-pony, pretty much plays Tony Soprano for the umpteenth time...only this time, he is gay. Isn't that hilarious? A gay hit-man with all the mannerisms of Tony Soprano. That is about as far as the ingenuity in this mess goes. And truthfully, once you see what the film has in store for Gandolfini and the hapless romantic foil that Roberts hooks him up with, it especially feels like a waste of time.Truthfully, this is one of the most aggravating, unpleasant and appalling films to come down the pike in decades. It succeeds at nothing it attempts and manages to tarnish the careers of its stars in the process. I hope that both Pitt and Roberts have paid back on whatever bet they lost because I cannot imagine any other reason for their inclusion in this debacle.

The Mexican is actually a fun crime-comedy to watch. It a humorous adventure for a priceless cursed pistol. It's not a downright horrible and boring film as some of the critics say it is - it's actually quite fun to watch.This is a movie I liked better than I thought I would - it was funnier than I anticipated. What made the movie so funny was the two lead characters: Jerry (Pitt) and Samantha (Roberts) their relationship with each other really was the best part of the entire film for me.This is a great afternoon comedy film... one that you can simply kick-back and enjoy.7.5/10

Take "All About Steve" (cute dysfunctional romcom), toss in "3 Days in the Valley" (gritty crime drama), a little bit of "Silver Streak" (roadcom) and a hint of "Deathtrap" or possibly "Fargo" (dark comedy), then whip them all mercilessly with an eggbeater until it's unrecognizable, bake at 425 degrees for 2 hrs 3 mins, and there you have "The Mexican".If you enjoyed all the films I mentioned above, you'll like this. It's polished, as any Hollywood flick with Brad Pitt & Julia Roberts would be, but it's quirky and odd enough to set itself apart from the others. The story is about a lovable loser (Brad Pitt) and his crazy therapy-inducing girlfriend (Julia Roberts) who end up trapped in a bloody battle to get a cursed gun known as "The Mexican". The plot has plenty of twists & turns to keep you entertained on the surface. But the real story is about unlikely relationships: not just Brad & Julia's bipolar romance but also unlikely friendships & loyalties that spring up between kidnappers & kidnappees, assassins & victims, American profiteers & Mexican defenders... like a good Clint Eastwood movie ("The Unforgiven", "Gran Turino"), the point is that it's easy to apply labels, but how often do you get a good look at what's underneath?I mentioned that this is a dark comedy, and indeed there are about half a dozen killings. What makes it different from, say Pulp Fiction or Heathers, is that the film doesn't gloss over the deaths with comedic gags. That's where this film is unusual... It has a place for comedy, and it has a place for tragedy. It doesn't really mix the two. Thus you may find your emotions wrenched around a bit, and that may be disorienting to some viewers. But if you're ready for a wild ride (exactly what this movie claims to be), you'll love it. And it has a cool dog in it too.Other good movies in the same genre include "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie), the hilarious "My Cousin Vinny" (Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei) and the classic "Foul Play" (Chevy Chase & Goldie Hawn).