After debuting with ‘Salir del Wardrobe’, Cadiz director Ángeles Reiné returns with another comedy, this time with a more captivating and familiar aspect, as “Héroes de barrio” tries to be that beautiful proposition to enjoy summer cinema. Unlike recent box office hits like “The Best Summer of My Life” or the first chapter of the “Father There’s Only One” saga, this is an original version that doesn’t fit any other European or Latin American hit.
However, it could very well be, because “Heroes de barrio” has the ingredients of the aforementioned family remakes. It’s fun to see how Joaquín, the Betis midfielder and one of the most charismatic players in Spanish football, becomes the premise for a filmin which his figure becomes a kind of Macguffin who appears to be a commercial, familiar and native response to “I want to be like Beckham”. But Ángeles Reiné is not Gurinder Chadha and his proposal is far from the social history of the British filmmaker of Indian origin.
The story has as its protagonist Paula, a girl who dreams of becoming a footballer and who wants her favorite player, Joaquín, to promote the neighborhood team Sevillano where he plays, in order to get promotion and visibility. The plot focuses on the midfielder because the little girl’s father, Luis, who runs a bar, is known in the neighborhood for allegedly being a friend of Joaquín. The story gets complicated when we see that Luis has only pretended to be known by the football player and that he will have to do the impossible to make his daughter’s dream come true.
A typical family comedy with a commercial gaze
Reiné, who signs the screenplay with Antonio Prieto, has the merit of creating a film that transmits good vibes. Impossible not to feel empathy both for the pathetic father who seeks the affection of his daughter, and for said girl, whose self-confidence is the work of Luna Fulgencio, folkloric daughter of Santiago Segura in the trilogy ‘Padre no hay más que uno’, who displays an innate talent for wellness comedy and, if she continues to work as an actress, aims to carve out a promising career in her adult stage.
At his side a wonderful Antonio Pagudo. The actor from Granada always defends his roles with professionalism, as can be seen in the irregular ‘Mamá no enRedes’ and in ‘Por los pelos’, which will premiere in August. Both come in excellent company, because they have Antonio Dechent and Álex O’Dogherty, two teachers, especially the first, who is always a first-rate high schooler.
However, beyond some correct interpretations and common sense, typical of the family cinema of good humor, there is nothing else to highlight in a film whose other merit is to be very honest with the audience it is aimed at. Reiné improves his debut film a bit, whose only merit is that it was the last film in which Rosa María Sardá starred, and shows that he has a hand in commercial cinema for families. However, for the moment, it’s far from Santiago Segura’s ability to turn any of his family propositions into success, since he lacks a rogue touch that would have been a good seasoning for an overly conventional story.
Note: 5
The best: Its main actors.
Worse: It’s too predictable and still feels like a movie that’s been seen too much.
Source: E Cartelera
