Mejor es que Gabriela no se muera (2007) Reviews

• The genre "comedy" doesn't do it justice

  rooprect2018-06-26

  The genre "comedy" as well as the cheery pink DVD cover and breezy description may lead you to believe that this is a silly madcap comedy along the lines of Police Academy #(whatever number they're on). If that's what you're expecting, then you're in for a few surprises. The story is about a TV soap opera writer, "Miguel", who reluctantly becomes "friends" with a police officer, "Brancho", who is an obsessed fan of the soap. Brancho learns that the soap plans to kill off its lead character, so he begins stalking, harassing and violently threatening Miguel with the warning, you guessed it, "It's better that Gabriela doesn't die." With a setup like this, the film could've easily chosen to be as wacky as "Weekend at Bernies", but it's definitely not. It begins cheeky enough, but it soon becomes unsettling as we realize that the police officers isn't just a silly ham. He's every bit as violent and unhinged as Robert De Niro in "The Untouchables." Brancho's descent into psycopathy is not played off as silly; it's done very seriously. Thus, toward the end the story is hardly a comedy any more but almost a thriller. Yet, it remains peppered with some really fun moments (such as the mysterious "Abigail" character who is a bizarre cross between a drag queen and every James Bond villain you've ever seen), so it's not like the film drops the comedy facade entirely. Perhaps it can be broadly compared to something like "Pulp Fiction" which has elements of comedy as well as serious, disturbing drama. The cinema nerds amongst us will love some of the artistic shots and creative camera work, as well as the subtle jabs at lame soap opera "cinematography". And the arthouse crowd will be wowed by 2 or 3 really "out there" scenes that'll have you scratching your head and stroking your beard. Despite all this, the flick can still be watched for pure entertainment value, although that's like watching "2001: A Space Odyssey" for the music. There's a lot going on here, and I think if you want the full experience you should be ready for everything, not just a "comedy".

• Anyone who has watched a telenovela (even if you don't understand them!) or a soap opera will love this movie.

  pischina2008-12-30

  I saw this at the Cinequest Film Festival in 2008 and loved it. Not the best movie of the festival, but very very funny. In Mexico, a man gets hassled by a cop. When the cop discovers the man is a writer for his favorite telenovela, he lets him go - on the condition that the writer tells him what will happen. Trouble ensues when the telenovela plot later takes an unexpected turn. The movie is hilarious in parts, although there were a few times that all of us in the audience thought there may be some serious violence (the cop is not very happy to have been shamed in front of his friends, co-workers AND mother-in-law), no drastic violence occurs and the movie keeps its comedy intact. The last 20 minutes are laugh out loud hilarious, although I'm not sure of the significance of the last 5 minutes of the movie, overall I thought it was a WHOLE lot of fun.

• unique story and great visuals

  technekai2008-08-01

  the story is so excellent... i really haven't come across much else like it. at once funny and dramatic, oddly compelling. what starts out as an ordinary day at the office (doing a job you'd rather not have) turns into near-disaster. i love the kind of movies that twist and turn and build and build into ever more fantastic conclusions. also an interesting view on Mexican society, whether you've been there or not. the actors were believable and rich, not the kind you either love or hate, they had many shades in between. the film will delight you visually with its setting and details. go see it! the only reason i don't give it a 10 is i was confused at a few points, though that may be because i was trying to listen to the Spanish without reading all the subtitles, and i'm not a fluent speaker.