If they were not scrabbling to make a living at a banana ranch in Mexico, brothers Tato and Beto (Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna) could be the next Christian Ronaldo and Artur Boruc.
Rudo & Cursi (15)
***
Dir: Carlos Cuaron
With: Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna
IF they were not scrabbling to make a living at a banana ranch in Mexico, brothers Tato and Beto (Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna) could be the next Christian Ronaldo and Artur Boruc.
After a talent scout passing through their village agrees, he takes the striker and the goalie to a big club in the capital.
Hero worship, fabulous homes, even a singing career are theirs for the taking - if only they can keep their heads, and stop arguing with each other.
The title of Carlos Cuaron's comedy drama translates roughly as "robust and pretentious", just two of the labels attached to the pair by the sporting press as the media frenzy begins. Bernal and Luna appeared together in Alfonso and Carlos Cuaron's 2001 hit, Y Tu Mama Tambien.
They are wonderfully at ease with each other on the screen, which adds to the picture's relaxed air.
It's a bit too laid back when it comes to reinventing the familiar tale of poor boys making good on the football pitch, but it's an amusing, warm-hearted watch all the same.
