Movie Review for “A La Mala”
Synopsis: After beautiful struggling actress Mala is hired to flirt with – and then dump – a producer’s handsome ex, she discovers that her acting skills may not be enough to save her from falling in love in this sparkling comedy.
Rating: PG-13 for some sexuality/nudity and language
Run Time: 106 Min.
Director: Pitipol Ybarra
Dvd Extra’s: English Subtitles
Nudity Factor: Partial side boob in a couple of different scenes.
Of Note: Aislinn Derbez is daughter of well known Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez.
Here I am reading the subtitles to a Mexican film that was recommended to me when I said I should expand my reviews beyond what is readily known in the United States. The person that recommended it to me said I would really appreciate the acting, especially the lead female. I will start with the acting in this film. Granted, sometimes I was reading the subtitles to catch all the performance, but I have to say that Aislinn Derbez is amazing. She could have been the character she was portraying, and I wouldn’t be surprised if people don’t expect her to be that person in real life. She totally sold the character yet did it in a way that made me appreciate the character. The story follows a young actress who is having trouble getting cast in a part. Is behind on rent. One day, she is handed a check and asked to flirt with another woman’s boyfriend. She is to see if he is a creep and will jump at the chance she is offering. Quickly this leads to a series of these types of dates until one day a producer of a TV show she wants to be on, offers her the part as long as she hooks up with her x boyfriend only to dump him. The producer hopes that with his heart broken, he will return to her. Of course, this plan is flawed, and all of us know that going into this. The story itself is fun, lighthearted, and at times even funny. Despite it being in Spanish, it still is a movie you can follow, and the subtitles are not all that annoying.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I appreciate the recommendation and found it to be everything I was told it was. It has some great acting that leads to some really great characters.