Gringo (2018)

I did not expect much from a movie titled Gringo.  From the trailer it appeared like it would be a fun, goofy, action, dark dramedy.  Sometimes it is OK to watch dumb humor and that is what I expected with Gringo.  How many other movies where the title is a racial slur would you expect to be any good?

With a cast that includes the likes of Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton, Sharlto Copley, and Amanda Seyfried, it would be hard to go wrong, right?

The movie is about how an average business trip to Mexico for Harold Soyinka, quickly takes a turn for the worse and he finds himself in a tangled mess between a drug cartel, the police, and his backstabbing boss.

The movie was directed by Nash Edgerton and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes David Oyelowo, Thandie Newton, Alan Ruck, Kenneth Choi, Melonie Diaz, Harry Treadaway, and Yul Vasquez.

This is one of those movies that overcompensates in the trailer to make the movie look a lot more entertaining than it actually is.

I has its comedic moments, but not very many of them.  If has some action, but not very much of it.  You get to like the characters, but on a little bit.  I was actually shocked at how not funny this movie was.

How do you assign the comedy genre to a movie that is not very funny?  This has become more and more common for Hollywood, these days.  There are too many subgenres.  This is an example of a movie that is trying to be too many of those subgenres at once.  It wants to be a comedy (dark, stupid, witty, goofy), drama, and action.  You cannot always have your cake and eat it too.  You cannot lump all of those genres in to a film and always expect to pull it off.

This movie bleeds with underused talent.  It is a comedy for actors that are not known for comedy and it shows because they have a lot of trouble actually pulling off humor of any kind.

Sharlto Copley stole the show.  He managed to bring the most amount of comedy and entertainment to the film, even though it still fell short.

The movie was just not very fun.  I found myself a little bored about two thirds of the way through.

Overall, Gringo is a poorly written “dramedy” with a little bit of action.  Even the cast cannot save this film.  It is worth a rental if you are curious about the movie, but do not waste your money in the theater unless you have a MoviePass.

I rate this movie a 4 on a scale of 1-10.

If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:

Masterminds (2016)

We’re the Millers (2013)

Keeping up with the Joneses (2016)

The Hangover (2009)

The Hangover II (2011)

The Hangover III (2013)

Horrible Bosses (2011)

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

Due Date (2010)

Hall Pass (2011)

Office Christmas Party (2016)

Bad Words (2013)

Identity Thief (2013)