Casi Casi
(HBO)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C+
When I
read on the back of the jacket that Jamie & Tony Vallés’ Casi Casi (2005) was in the mode of Election and Mean Girls, two good (if not great) films, the first thought was
“here we go again” and the like, but the writing/directing team have actually
pulled off an interesting if flawed story about the troubles of school kid
Emilio.
He loves
Jacklynne, gets involved with student government only to find out she is also
interested in a way that will not win him any points with her, he is not the
best or most popular student and his principal is akin to an angry
dictator. Though I did not have any
laughs that had me rolling on the floor, I was pleasantly surprised at the good
sense of humor and consistency of this feature, even when it came across as
rough on a technical level. Though no
match for Porky’s, School Of Rock or Real Genius, Casi Casi is
better than most of the theatrical & TV variations of this cycle of school
tales and is worth a look.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is soft and likely shot in HD or a more
standard digital format. Colors, details
and depth are limited, while this still manages to develop a watchable look to
it. The Dolby Digital Spanish 2.0 Stereo
has no surrounds and is nothing special, with some sound echo from set shooting
that is almost distracting. Extras
include a making of featurette and an audio commentary track by the Vallés.
- Nicholas Sheffo
