My Review: Nosotros los Nobles (5/10)

Nosotros los Nobles (We the Nobles) has broken the box office records in its native Mexico thanks to its easy and appealing subject matter. It is pretty much a straight forward "from riches to rags" story with some stereotypical characters and some funny moments. The film also has a family friendly message so I can see why it appealed to such a wide audience considering it made fun of the wealthy Mexicans. Unlike what many Americans might think, there are actually some wealthy Mexicans living the "Mexican dream," and they are presented in a rather comical form. The reason this film broke some records in Mexico is because it is really relatable and there are some pretty funny moments as the audience gets to make fun of these rich kids who seem to be clueless about the hardships of life. Nosotros Los Nobles was directed by Gary Alazraki (this was his first feature film) and he also co-wrote the screenplay along with Patricio Saiz and Adrian Zurita. I'm not very familiar with the cast involved in this film, but I think they pulled off some funny performances. This was way different from the Mexician films I was used to watching coming from Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, and Guillermo del Toro. Nosotros Los Nobles is a much lighter and more accesible film for audiences, but I still felt the film suffered from a week first and third act. There were some really funny moments during the second act, but the film opened really poorly when they introduced each character and then ended in a rather cartoonish manner as well.

Nosotros Los Nobles is a film that centers around a rich Mexican family known as the Nobles. German Noble (Gonzalo Vega) has built a financial empire for his family after years of hard work. His wife passed away years ago and he's had to raise their three kids on his own. Barbara (Karla Souza), Javi (Luis Gerardo Mendez), and Cha (Juan Pablo Gil) are not really good at anything except spending their father's money. They are really spoiled and live a life of excess. Barbara's boyfriend, Peter (Carlos Gascon), asks German for his daughter's hand, but he doesn't approve of their relation because Peter doesn't have a job and the couple simply want to live off his money. Tired of his children's behavior, German decides to pull off a charade and tells them that they are broken. He believes this way his children will be forced to find jobs and try to survive in the real world under harsh conditions. Cha finds a job at a local bank, while Javi and Barbara get jobs thanks to their maid's son, Lucho (Ianis Guerrero). Having no work experience whatsoever, the three kids will find it difficult to adapt to this new lifestyle, but German is sure this will teach them a lesson or two about life. 

Barbara, Javi, and Cha all play the stereotypical spoiled kids which adds to the overall comedy, but there really isn't much to their characters. Cha is probably the weakest link here as his story was completely uninspired. At least Barbara and Javi had some substance and side stories to make them a bit more interesting. Peter is the typical villain here who wants to blackmail his future father-in-law and pressure his girlfriend into marrying him so he can enjoy the family's wealth. I found some of the jokes pretty funny, but there were plenty of cheesy moments as well. The movie also is very predictable and despite having some heartfelt moments I felt this was  just another generic comedy about a story we've seen played out before. Overall it teaches some good values and some families might enjoy this film, I thought it was all right but won't recommend it.