The Mexican: Movie & DVD Review (2001)

(Originally published 2001)

Gore Verbinski's "The Mexican” stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt in their first cinematic pairing, a collaboration that promises a substantial box office opening before word-of-mouth hands it its last cigarette--and shoots it between the eyes.

The problem with the film isn’t just that its script conspires to keep Roberts and Pitt apart for most of the movie, but that it isn’t interested in being the romantic comedy DreamWorks suggests it is in their television ads. Instead, “The Mexican” is a two-hour road movie that feels like a weeklong slog.

On one level, Verbinski (“Mouse Hunt”) must have been aware of this because, throughout, he tries to compensate by hauling out his cast’s infamous bag of tricks. Sometimes an actor’s quirky personality traits can help to lift a film, but when a director believes they’re enough to carry a film, the entire effort can go south of the border in a hurry.

Such is the case with “The Mexican,” a film that relies so heavily on Julia Roberts’ impossibly wide smile, her ostrich-like gate and her trash mouth--not to mention on Brad Pitt’s devilish grin--it almost forgets it’s supposed to be about something.

In this case, that “something” is a legendary pistol called The Mexican, which Jerry (Pitt), a mob bagman, is ordered to retrieve in Mexico for his evil mob boss (Bob Balaban). But when Jerry’s girlfriend, the psychobabbling Sam (Roberts), learns of the job, she offers Jerry an ultimatum--it’s either her or the gun.

Afraid of being murdered, Jerry chooses Mexico, Sam leaves in a huff for Las Vegas--and into this mix comes the film’s one saving grace: James Gandolfini as Leroy, a hitman whose abduction of Sam results in the film’s most rewarding relationship.

Gandolfini may not be stretching here--Leroy is, after all, modeled after Tony Soprano, the character he plays on “The Sopranos.” But his bearish presence and calm are nevertheless what ground a movie that would have been unthinkably jittery without him in it. What’s better for Gandolfini is that it’s he--not Roberts or Pitt--who surprises us. Just how won’t be revealed here, but the twist surrounding his character is the best part of the movie as it comes as a shock.

Still, for all the hype surrounding the pairing of its two headlining stars, “The Mexican” mostly misfires. Armed with J.H. Wyman’s slight, humorless script and a director not up to the task, the film never strings its handful of good moments into an enjoyable, cohesive whole.

Grade: C