''Rudo y Cursi'' ( Spanish, literally, "Rough and Corny") is a 2008 Mexican

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film starring

Diego Luna Diego Dionisio Luna Alexander (; born 29 December 1979) is a Mexican actor, director, and producer, best known for his portrayal of Cassian Andor in ''Rogue One, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016) and the Disney+ series ''Andor (TV series), ...

Gael García Bernal Gael García Bernal (; born 30 November 1978) is a Mexican actor and filmmaker. He is known for his performances in the films ''Amores perros'' (2000), ''Y tu mamá también'' (2001), ''Bad Education (2004 film), Bad Education'' (2004), ''The Mot ...

and Guillermo Francella. It is directed by Carlos Cuarón and produced by Cha Cha Cha Films. It is Carlos Cuarón's first full-length movie.

Synopsis

In the fictional farming village of Tachatlán, in the Cihuatlán Valley of

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, young men dream of escaping the drudgery of the banana plantations. Two of them, a pair of half-brothers, play in local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches. Tato is the star striker and Beto is the eccentric goalkeeper. During one match, they are spotted by a talent scout and he offers one of them the opportunity to go to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

with him and try out for one of the country's big teams. As the scout's roster is already full, he says he can only take one of the brothers and they decide to settle it on a penalty shot. Tato scores the penalty against his brother, therefore earning the right to head to the capital.

Cast

as Tato "Cursi" Verdusco *

as Beto "Rudo" Verdusco * Guillermo Francella as Darío "Batuta" Vidali * Dolores Heredia as Elvira * Joaquín Cosio as Arnulfo * Adriana Paz as Toña

Production

Carlos Cuarón first formed the idea for the film while on a promotional tour for ''

Y tu mamá también ''Y tu mamá también'' (Spanish for ''And Your Mother Too'') is a 2001 Mexican Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy drama Road movie, road film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who co-wrote the script with his brother Carlos Cuarón, Carlos. I ...

''. He initially planned for only one character, but later decided to include a brother. Principal photography began in summer 2007 in Cihuatlán,

. The banana plantation where the brothers work in the film is actually owned by the Cuarón family. For his role Bernal wore blonde extensions to lengthen his hair while Luna dyed his hair black and grew a mustache to play the older brother. Additional filming took place in México City and

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

Release

''Rudo y Cursi'' released in December 2008 in Mexico. It premiered internationally at the April 2009

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

and was screened at the 2009

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

and the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

. It was released generally, on a limited basis, on May 8, 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on August 25, 2009.

Box office

''Rudo y Cursi'' was very successful at the box office. It became the sixth top grossing Mexican movie of all time. In its first two weeks in the US, it earned $738,706 on 219 screens. It eventually grossed $9,264,208 in overseas earnings, bringing its worldwide total to $11,091,868.

References

External links

Rudo y Cursi video, news and trailer at Biosstars International database
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudo y Cursi 2008 films 2008 comedy-drama films Association football films Cha Cha Cha Films films Films produced by Alfonso Cuarón Films produced by Guillermo del Toro Films directed by Carlos Cuarón Mexican sports films Mexican comedy-drama films Sony Pictures Classics films Focus Features films Universal Pictures films 2000s Mexican films 2000s American films American comedy-drama films