The Mexican (2001)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Gore Verbinski

Writer (WGA):

J.H. Wyman (written by)

Release Date:

2 March 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

love with the safety off

Plot:

A man tries to transport an ancient gun called The Mexican, believed to carry a curse, back across the border, while his girlfriend pressures him to give up his criminal ways.

Plot Keywords:

Pistol | Curse | Mob | Gay | Hostage

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Brad Pitt	...	Jerry Welbach
Julia Roberts	...	Samantha Barzel
James Gandolfini	...	Winston Baldry
J.K. Simmons	...	Ted Slocum
Bob Balaban	...	Bernie Nayman
Sherman Augustus	...	Well Dressed Black Man
Michael Cerveris	...	Frank
Richard Coca	...	Car Thief #1
David Krumholtz	...	Beck
Castulo Guerra	...	Joe the Pawnshop Owner
Mayra Serbulo	...	Emanuelle (as Maira Serbulo)
Salvador Sánchez	...	Gunsmith
Alan Ciangherotti	...	Gunsmith's Assistant (as Alan Cianguerotti)
Melisa Romero	...	Gunsmith's Daughter
Ernesto Gómez Cruz	...	Tropillo

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Malaysia:18PL (uncut) | Malaysia:U (cut) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:MA (cable rating)

Filming Locations:

Belz Factory Outlet Mall - 7400 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

James Gandolfini reportedly lost 35 pounds for his role as Winston, all of which he had to gain back before shooting re-commenced on the upcoming season of "The Sopranos" (1999) because producer David Chase believed that "The Sopranos" audience would not like a "skinny" Tony (Soprano).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Toluca City is a large industrial-urban city, 30 minutes by car from Mexico City. It is not a old rural town. Because of its closeness to Mexico City, no airline flies between the two cities.

Quotes:

Frank: Guns don't kill people - postal workers do.

Movie Connections:

References The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

Soundtrack:

The Elephant Man

not nearly as clever as it thinks

This is a popcorn movie with aspirations to quality, but it fails on either level.

The romance doesn't work, because we're not made to care about the characters played by Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt; the humour doesn't work, because the movie's trying way too hard to be "hip"; and the attempts at serious moments don't work, because almost nothing in the movie has anything to do with reality.

The only thing this has going for it is James Gandolfini, and I'm not just saying that because he's gorgeous. Surprisingly (and refreshingly), the fact that his character is a gay hit man is not played for laughs. Of course, it doesn't serve a purpose either.