Amexicano - 1 star out of 10

Amexicano - 1 star out of 10

"Amexicano" is just as confused as its title.  Everything is awkward, from the cheesy interactions between its two main characters as they become unlikely friends to the ironing board-tattoo-stabbing scene (don't ask).  It is a strange entity, as the first half of the film doesn't go anywhere, and then the second half of the film takes so many random twists that by the end of the story, it is tough to believe that you are watching the same film.  There are so many eye-rolling scenes, my favorite of which is the main character sitting in front of the computer, looking up phrases in Spanish and practicing them using different inflections.  How could you forget when they invite him to play soccer.  Sorry, futbol.  They invite him to play futbol, he stands there like a big oaf until the ball comes to him, flails about, then somehow scores a goal.  And then they celebrate.  Sigh.  Speaking of celebrations, they even invited him to a fiesta... with balloons and an awkward guitar player in the background...  This film is guilty of failing to identify with true Mexican culture, and instead presenting every stereotype that they can think of, from the aforementioned things to day laborers on the corner.  Which is the OPPOSITE of the message that this film is trying to get across!  And all of this is under the guise of this obviously being a low-budget independent film.  Let's not forget that one of the lines is "Sounds corny but it's true."  Only the corniest movies would have this line included in their script.  At least Gabriela (played by Jennifer Peña) is hott.  But then they awkwardly turn this into a love story with several different guys... and the iron... From start to finish, I can't figure out what this movie is supposed to be.  It seems like it's trying to deliver a message about biggotry but instead becomes the stereotype that it fights against.  This one is good for a few laughs (even though it's not supposed to be)  but doesn't offer any sort of quality, from its opening lines about not abusing the Unemployment System to it's dumb ending that feels like a different film.