Will Ferrell as Armando Alvarez in CASA DE MI PADRE. Courtesy Pantelion Films

Will Ferrell was channel surfing in the wee hours several years ago and stopped on one of the Spanish language channels. “What is this? Why are they so over the top?” he
told Movieline about his first reaction to telenovelas, the countless soap operas found on Univision and Telemundo. Actors on telenovelas performed with intensity and heightened emotion above and beyond that of American soap operas. Ferrell thought they were hilarious, and imagined himself a part of that strange melodramatic world. What if I starred in my own telenovela, he wondered?

Casa de mi Padre is his answer. Ferrell speaks only a few words of English in the 84-minute film; for the most part, he and his fellow actors speak Spanish with subtitles. It’s a potentially daring comic ploy. But does an outsider’s view of a Spanish-language genre deliver as much fun as the source?

Armando Alvarez (Ferrell) has worked on his father’s ranch his entire life. His little brother Raul (Diego Luna) left the family business and is now a major player in the drug world. When the family is in danger of losing the ranch, Raul comes to the rescue — or does he simply put the family in danger? Does his fiancée Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez) really love him? Casa de mi Padre is a tale of sibling rivalry, police corruption and brutal drug wars, presided over by the powerful drug lord La Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).

The film is beautifully photographed by Ramsey Nickell, and the title design, which recalls Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, suggests good grind house entertainment. But this is parody. The movie is full of deliberate continuity errors, rear-projection shots and cheap miniatures. Sometimes the strategy works, especially in scenes of an animatronic white jaguar (a product of the Jim Henson factory) that approaches surrealism. But the film makers don’t trust you not to get the joke. An early scene shows Ferrell and his ranch buddies hiding behind rocks in front of what is obviously a painted background. The illusion is worth a chuckle if you catch it. But then the actors crouch down behind the rocks and the camera lingers on the backdrop as if pointing to it with a neon wink, “See? Get it?”

Gael Garcia Bernal as La Onza in CASA DE MI PADRE. Courtesy Pantelion Films

The jokes undercut what makes telenovelas so much fun: the emotion. Ferrell and company do their best to summon up the levels of overacting that are the charming hallmark of telenovelas, but the forced parody pulls you out of that mindset time and again.

A sepia-toned flashback explains the tragic accident that killed Armando’s mother. It could be a powerful scene, an unexpected slice of heavy drama in what you expect is a comedy. But it doesn’t work: if it’s supposed to be tragic, you feel little emotion; if it’s supposed to be a joke at the expense of Armando’s clumsiness, it‘s not funny.

The movie doesn’t entirely dismiss its source material—the meat of it is there, with a touch of Douglas Sirk melodrama a common ancestor between the diverging forks. Casa de Mi Padre was a great idea but too often its producers act like they’re better than the source material, and that’s no fun. Will Ferrell studied hard to pass muster as a telenovela star. His pronunciation isn’t great, his command of the language not strong enough to match the melodramatic flourishes most of his fellow actors pull off and seem to have fun with.

Casa de mi Padre seems like a risky business for a box office draw such like Will Ferrell: a comedy based on Mexican spaghetti westerns, telenovelas and other genres little known in middle America. The script was written in English and translated into Spanish by SNL vet Andrew Steele. I’m a fan of telenovelas—I recently stumbled on the Brazilian telenovela A Escrava Isaura, a 19th century costume drama about a master who falls in love with his beautiful slave. It has a charm beyond parody, and I wonder if Ferrell would have been better off playing his telenovela straight. I had mild hopes for Casa de mi Padre, but it’s just one more SNL-related feature that would have been better at skit (or serial) length.

Casa de mi Padre
Directed by Matt Piedmont.
Written by Andrew Steele.
Starring Will Ferrell, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez, Gael Garcia Bernal.
Running time: 84 minutes.
Rated R for bloody violence, language, some sexual content and drug use.
In Spanish with English subtitles.