Casa de Mi Padre

Will Ferrell is back with this very odd, and quite likable, parody of overwrought Mexican soap operas. Ferrell plays Armando, the austere and upright son of rancher Miguel Ernesto (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.), whose simple life is jeopardised by the return of his newly-married sleazeball brother, Raul (Luna), and bride Sonia (Rodriguez). This change in family dynamic and the temptation of Sonia aside, our hero must also worry about the threat posed to his father’s land by megalomaniac drug baron Onza (Gael García Bernal). Just as well Armando’s really tough.

A running gag of continuity errors and rubbish production values wears thin over 90 minutes, though Ferrell’s absurdly stoic superman is a hoot, with Bernal and Luna providing (and probably having) the most fun inhabiting wildly OTT baddies. A couple of wittily staged, extravagant action set-pieces add to the merriment, but this is a film that gets by on an endearing silliness rather than belly laughs. [Chris Fyvie]