Días de fútbol

The film that most certainly inspired the Peruvian film 'Once Machos' - it's allright - they all overact though... but it's inoffensive enough and if you want to watch a movie you might not have come across from Spain and you have a spare hour and a half then give it a go, who knows, you might like it!

A well acted, so so crafted, movie that should be considered as a return in form to the typical Spanish comedy of yesteryear. Its plot, a straightforward story about a group of friends that play soccer together, echoes the genre comedies of Pedro Lazaga, Tony Leblanc, Maso, etc. As those films it may not be too original, but it gets quite well the spirit of its time. The characters are true to its time and place and you can imagine them as real persons. As in those films also, acting is brilliant, even bit players shine, dialogs are funny. Specially moving are Natalia Verbeke (I must confess I'm a fan) and Ernesto ALterio, that carries most of the film on his ex-convict role.

If so, I think I didn't get it. It was somewhat entertaining, but hardly funny. I just couldn't have fun with these people. Half the characters were obnoxious, rude, abusive bastards, and the other half were ineffectual, incompetent, mumbling, pathetic losers, or sometimes a combination of the two. And yeah, I know that can be funny sometimes, but this wasn't the kind of bunch I wanted to spend two hours with. I didn't like them, I couldn't find them sympathetic, I couldn't relate to anyone, I couldn't understand why they loved each other so much, and in the end I couldn't help but feel that none of them deserved the luck they had (which was a lot in some cases). All they did was argue, shout, fight, fight again, fight some more, insult each other, do stupid stuff for no reason... It wasn't funny at all, it just got tiring after a while. And believe me, I am NOT squeamish about bad language, but I found that the amount of it in this film was just too much to put up with sometimes. They way the characters overused it made you dislike them even more.

I never quite understood the craze for writer David Serrano's previous film, El Otro Lado de la Cama, which was a huge hit here in Spain, and seeing this didn't change my mind much: he's overrated.

(One positive thing I will say: Alterio's impressive performance as the menacing, borderline psycho Antonio does raise an eyebrow or two. No wonder he got several nominations for Spanish awards)

When I heard about this movie I thought was going to be a bad one. I was wrong. It is a delightful comedy that gets your attention from the very beginning. I had a great time and I laugh a lot while watching this movie. It's a simple comedy that works, without any other pretension. Ernesto Alterio as Antonio is just amazing. You cannot stop laughing when you see him. This is the kind of movie you want to watch with your friends. And don't worry, it's not about football.

Seven friends , one mission , skill : none . Jorge's (Alberto San Juan) life is embarrassing and problematic . He finds his work tiring , his sweetheart Violeta (Natalia Verbeke) has just abandoned him and his friends are all losers . A bit later on , Jorge meets Bárbara (Pilar Castro) and both of them fall in love ; meanwhile , Violeta has affair with Daniel (Daniel Martin) . Antonio (Ernesto Alterio) , his best friend, is just out of prison and want to work as a psychologist, so he decides to practice his special brand of psychology on the road as a taxi man . Jorge's other friends aren't doing much better , they are the followings : Carlos (Pere Ponce) , Ramón (Roberto Álamo married to Carla : Maria Steve) , Serafín (Fernando Tejero) , Gonzalo (Secun de la Rosa) and Miguel (Luis Bermejo) . The solution is to resurrect a football team they had in their youth and ultimately win something in life . Nothing seems to work at first , and they lose every match . However, when Antonio's close friend Serafin (Fernando Tejero) appears on the football field , things change ; as Serafin finds some unusual ways of succeeding on the scene . Later on , Antonio takes an essential decision : to marry Macarena (Lola Dueñas) , as he invites to his seven friends .

This passable as well as silly comedy contains crazy events , sexual scenes , amusement and absurd situations . Sitting in a strange middle ground between the completely absurd and the stylish set pieces , adding some agreeable moments . This comedy contains social customs about a group of friends who attempt to find a way to change their miserable lives , lots of humor , entertainment and amusement . This is a slightly funny film with entertaining situations , giggles , emotion and love stories . The film moves in fits and starts most of which would be desirable , with more traps the viewer resists any kind, and some moments of enjoyment and others quite a few ridiculous . This is a typical Madrid comedy of the 2000s with the usual ingredients as enjoyable humor , social habits , relationships among people and , of course , dealing with soccer . My feelings are extremely mixed but I must admit there are some brief and no very enjoyable laughters ; however , it also packs uneven comedy , vulgar humor , profanity and grossed themes . It was followed by a similar film : ¨El Penalti Mas largo Del Mundo¨, in fact , when the trailer was shown on cinemas, most of the public thought it was the second part of Días De Fútbol . The cast is frankly well , plenty of young actors as Ernesto Alterio playing an ex-con who has been in jail after various petty crimes and has decided to become a psychologist but he can only get a job as a cab driver , Alberto San Juan as sad and depressing Jorge , Fernando Tejero as optimist and happy Serafin , among others . In addition , brief appearances and cameos from Javier Gutiérrez , Andres Lima , Antonio De La Torre , Eva Santolaria , Pepo Oliva , Aitor Merino , Javivi , Guillermo ¨Willy¨ Toledo and several others .

It packs an adequate cinematography by Kiko De La Rica , considered to be one of the best Spanish cameramen , he has photographed many successes such as Lucia Y Sexo , Mataharis , Marujas Asesinas , he's usual cameraman of Eloy De La Iglesia : The Oxford murders , Comunidad , Chispa De Vida , Brujas De Zurragamurdi . Furthermore , atmospheric and evocative musical score by Miguel Malla . The motion picture was middlingly directed by David Serrano , as no big deal , the flick is acceptable and decent . David Serrano was born in 1975 in Madrid , location in which he often shoots his movies . He is a writer , known for Días De Fútbol (2003), El Otro Lado De La Cama (2002) , Una Hora Más En Canarias (2010) and is filming Tenemos Que Hablar with Hugo Silva and Michelle Jenner .