Surprisingly good script, with solid tight direction. Performances settle undaringly into the conventions of the genre, and for those who want to see the familiar unwind before them once again, this film will more than satisfy. Die hard noir buffs who insist on being astonished every time out by every twist and double cross will find this is no Maltese Falcon by far. And likewise those who dislike noir will find this gruesome and disgusting (both physically and morally).
15 Reviews
half decent film noir
BriGuY-126 August 2001
Warning: Spoilers
All in this was a pretty good film. There were definitely several highlights worth mentioning, namely the solid direction, great filming, Eric Robert's performance, and a unique plot. However, there were two main flaws that forced me to give this movie a 6.5. *****SPOILER***** First of all, Roberts should never have survived that shooting. Did this not bother anyone else? How often do people like Mcmanus's Louis "wipe out" a witness and just assume they are dead. Realistically Roberts would have received a final third bullet just to make sure that he wasn't going anywhere. Secondly, the dialogue was very inconsistent. Although, sharp and funny at times, it became almost silly and unrealistic at others.
However, despite these two things the movie was still worth seeing, although it could have been much, much, better if only a few small yet important changes were made.
However, despite these two things the movie was still worth seeing, although it could have been much, much, better if only a few small yet important changes were made.
Twisted Mexican noir......
merklekranz29 February 2008
Eric Roberts hits rock bottom in a small Mexican town. With no money and nothing to lose, he becomes involved in a murder for hire plot. The movie moves in stalls and sprints. When it stalls it is overly talky. When it moves forward it does so with twists and surprises. Eric Roberts delivers a great performance, and this holds everything together. The Mexican locations are another plus. Although the DVD packaging looks like a "spaghetti western", this is character driven with only sparse violence. I suppose the greatest recommendation for "La Cucaracha" is that it is different, a movie you are likely to remember. - MERK
Not-so-innocent abroad
brobstreperous22 October 2000
Hoping to flee a life of all-American banality, Walter Pool (Eric Roberts)begins anew in Mexico with the aim of writing a novel. He only succeeds in becoming an alcoholic loner, as he lacks the drive and verbal polish to become a writer. His routinized escape from routine does take on a new twist when he becomes involved with shady characters who do have drive (a willingness to deceive and kill to meet their ends), and verbal polish (speaking in over-the-top purple prose to justify their crimes.)
*La Cucaracha* unveils the hollowness of cultivated words and calculated appearances (e.g. the crime king in Armani suits speaks of the ennobling power of suffering, sheds copious tears and makes spectacular shows of philanthropy); however, actions ultimately reveal character. As Pool, Eric Roberts succeeds in playing a man whose verbal inarticulateness painfully reflects his moral inarticulateness. Even though he can't find his writer's voice, does he still have a voice of conscience? Does he have the will to transform his life through action, whether corrupt or heroic? Not since *Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia* have I seen the "loser in search of redemption in a tragic, corrupt world" theme played so well.
Although Eric Roberts' acting is superb (especially the scene in which he finally meets and breaks down before the woman he had so idolized), *La Cucaracha* is definitely not for everyone. There is no morally unambiguous hero, and the violence is somewhat heavy, though not mindless--the consequences of violence are frequently the subject of deliberation and remorse. Some might find the dialogue a bit stilted, although it might be more fairly compared to older noir films rather than the quick, punchy dialogue in a lot of recent crime films. If you like noir, character studies of ex-pat drifters, *and* Eric Roberts (his *Coca-Cola Kid*/*Star 80* caliber performances, as opposed to the *Best of the Best Series*), then this could well be for you.
*La Cucaracha* unveils the hollowness of cultivated words and calculated appearances (e.g. the crime king in Armani suits speaks of the ennobling power of suffering, sheds copious tears and makes spectacular shows of philanthropy); however, actions ultimately reveal character. As Pool, Eric Roberts succeeds in playing a man whose verbal inarticulateness painfully reflects his moral inarticulateness. Even though he can't find his writer's voice, does he still have a voice of conscience? Does he have the will to transform his life through action, whether corrupt or heroic? Not since *Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia* have I seen the "loser in search of redemption in a tragic, corrupt world" theme played so well.
Although Eric Roberts' acting is superb (especially the scene in which he finally meets and breaks down before the woman he had so idolized), *La Cucaracha* is definitely not for everyone. There is no morally unambiguous hero, and the violence is somewhat heavy, though not mindless--the consequences of violence are frequently the subject of deliberation and remorse. Some might find the dialogue a bit stilted, although it might be more fairly compared to older noir films rather than the quick, punchy dialogue in a lot of recent crime films. If you like noir, character studies of ex-pat drifters, *and* Eric Roberts (his *Coca-Cola Kid*/*Star 80* caliber performances, as opposed to the *Best of the Best Series*), then this could well be for you.
Sublime!
UrbanElysium25 April 2023
This is a top favorite Robert's film for me!
It's an odd casting for Roberts for some, but in 2023 it just shows how capable he is in practically ever genre! I'd love to see him do more of this!
THIS film is very quirky, dramatic, humorous at times ( thanks to roberts comedic talent) and a lot of not what you would expect. I'm not sure why but, I got wonderful smidgens of those wonderful old Sergio Leone films melded with modern expressionism. It's very different to describe this one because it doesn't fit neatly into a 'box'! It's part western, part drama, part comedy and a lot of surprise.
Well worth a watch if you like all above.
It's an odd casting for Roberts for some, but in 2023 it just shows how capable he is in practically ever genre! I'd love to see him do more of this!
THIS film is very quirky, dramatic, humorous at times ( thanks to roberts comedic talent) and a lot of not what you would expect. I'm not sure why but, I got wonderful smidgens of those wonderful old Sergio Leone films melded with modern expressionism. It's very different to describe this one because it doesn't fit neatly into a 'box'! It's part western, part drama, part comedy and a lot of surprise.
Well worth a watch if you like all above.
Film-making magic and artistry
lea-117 October 2004
There are plenty enough reviews that summarize the plot and give the synopsis of the story but they rarely ever tell you about the movie itself and why you might like to see it. So, if you want to know what the movie is about read the plot outline, read some of the other reviews or read the back of the DVD box. If you want to know why I think this movie is really good, read on.
One of the things I like best about La Cucaracha is that nothing is revealed too soon. Like an intricately folded napkin in a fancy restaurant, the characters slowly unfold their secrets allowing glances at their true selves and in so doing, completely undo their original appearance. It is not until the very end that you know who anyone really is. Eric Roberts gives one of the most engaging performances and plays one of the most likable characters I've seen from him. He gives subtle urgency a whole new meaning. Don't be surprised if you find yourself leaning forward in your seat, your forehead furrowed as you listen to Walter coming clean with his true identity. You may even find yourself rethinking all those assumptions you've made about the people you've met in your past and the things you've done or have yet to do. The rest of the cast is spot on as well. Their characters are all dealing with the deep emotional impact and ramifactions of their own deeds and you feel their pain, you see it etched on their faces. Aspiring filmmakers can learn a lot from this one. The camera work and lighting are so precise that they work as unseen hands in helping the characters reveal themselves to us and each other. Audiences who just like watching a good movie with a good story and interesting characters will love it too. This movie shows the real magic and artistry of film-making.
James McManus wrote a really tight story with just enough humour to keep you from being drawn too deeply in the dark depression that is Walter's life. Jack Perez has once again proven his ability to pull an enormous and beautiful rabbit out of a very small hat. For a real treat and one of the best commentary tracks ever made, buy or rent the DVD.
One of the things I like best about La Cucaracha is that nothing is revealed too soon. Like an intricately folded napkin in a fancy restaurant, the characters slowly unfold their secrets allowing glances at their true selves and in so doing, completely undo their original appearance. It is not until the very end that you know who anyone really is. Eric Roberts gives one of the most engaging performances and plays one of the most likable characters I've seen from him. He gives subtle urgency a whole new meaning. Don't be surprised if you find yourself leaning forward in your seat, your forehead furrowed as you listen to Walter coming clean with his true identity. You may even find yourself rethinking all those assumptions you've made about the people you've met in your past and the things you've done or have yet to do. The rest of the cast is spot on as well. Their characters are all dealing with the deep emotional impact and ramifactions of their own deeds and you feel their pain, you see it etched on their faces. Aspiring filmmakers can learn a lot from this one. The camera work and lighting are so precise that they work as unseen hands in helping the characters reveal themselves to us and each other. Audiences who just like watching a good movie with a good story and interesting characters will love it too. This movie shows the real magic and artistry of film-making.
James McManus wrote a really tight story with just enough humour to keep you from being drawn too deeply in the dark depression that is Walter's life. Jack Perez has once again proven his ability to pull an enormous and beautiful rabbit out of a very small hat. For a real treat and one of the best commentary tracks ever made, buy or rent the DVD.
Smart, funny, some slow spots, and a great Eric Roberts performance
Chris J.1 July 2000
If you have ever liked an Eric Roberts performance, this film is one you should make time for. It's a very unconventional film, making surprising and funny revelations here, twisting what you are expecting to happen there, and gradually revealing itself to be one of the darkest comedies you are likely to see.
The story is pretty simple, disillusioned loner is mistaken for a criminal, hired to do a hit, and a series of unfortunate events occur which are not what you expect and comprise the film.
This is certainly not for everyone. It's a variation on James M. Cain and if that's got some appeal the film is right up your alley. I suppose I might roll my eyes if read that in a review and think, "oh not that again...". Let me assure you, there's several surprising points of departure this film takes from most which sets it apart and above.
A few scenes are over-written, there are flaws, but there are enough clever moments and Roberts' brilliant performance overcomes all the bumps in the road.
If you don't like Eric Roberts however, you'll not like the film. He's in nearly every shot.
This will quickly and deservedly develop a strong cult following.
The story is pretty simple, disillusioned loner is mistaken for a criminal, hired to do a hit, and a series of unfortunate events occur which are not what you expect and comprise the film.
This is certainly not for everyone. It's a variation on James M. Cain and if that's got some appeal the film is right up your alley. I suppose I might roll my eyes if read that in a review and think, "oh not that again...". Let me assure you, there's several surprising points of departure this film takes from most which sets it apart and above.
A few scenes are over-written, there are flaws, but there are enough clever moments and Roberts' brilliant performance overcomes all the bumps in the road.
If you don't like Eric Roberts however, you'll not like the film. He's in nearly every shot.
This will quickly and deservedly develop a strong cult following.
Good film. Grows on you as you think about it more and more.
adolph708 July 2002
Eric Roberts and Joaquim de Almeida. Great actors. This movie has that cool Mexican atmosphere that was apparent, albeit in a different tone, in Desperado, the film that opened my eyes to Joaquim de Almeida.
After first viewing, the film seems merely average and sort of lost in little details, but once one goes back to delve deeper into its content, we see a film that can be simply interpreted as a character study, that of Eric Roberts. In that, it is most excellent.
If you take the film as that, you will enjoy it immensely. However, if you're expecting a true structure of a film with a solid, moving plot, well then perhaps you may be let down by this one. Whatever, I liked it.
After first viewing, the film seems merely average and sort of lost in little details, but once one goes back to delve deeper into its content, we see a film that can be simply interpreted as a character study, that of Eric Roberts. In that, it is most excellent.
If you take the film as that, you will enjoy it immensely. However, if you're expecting a true structure of a film with a solid, moving plot, well then perhaps you may be let down by this one. Whatever, I liked it.
Film Festival Favorite
BaiNst12 April 1999
LA CUCARACHA (1998) is an original, intelligent dark-comedy that sneaks up on you and gets under your skin. It was the winner in many of the film festivals of 1998. Eric Roberts gives the performance of his life as a snivelling, weak, drunken coward that finds redemption; a part that should have broken him out of his B-movie status, if not for the industry fumbling in the movie's distribution.
It is a moral play, delineating the human ability to rise above our animal instincts. It begins, as most Great Films do, with a tone and pace that could take the story in any direction, and once its tone of "dark comedy" is set, it remains consistent throughout. Instead of leaping into an easily recognizable formula, it takes its time to set up the character of our protagonist (all of the characters in this film are written, portrayed and presented so well, one wonders if it weren't written fifty years ago, when dialogue in a film actually mattered).
There is horror and tragedy within the story, but it is never gratuitous nor glorified.
If you love great dialogue; if you love great character development and motivation; if you love great direction and timing; if you long for the days when there were actually good, solid, meaningful stories; do yourself a favor and FIND THIS MOVIE.
It is a moral play, delineating the human ability to rise above our animal instincts. It begins, as most Great Films do, with a tone and pace that could take the story in any direction, and once its tone of "dark comedy" is set, it remains consistent throughout. Instead of leaping into an easily recognizable formula, it takes its time to set up the character of our protagonist (all of the characters in this film are written, portrayed and presented so well, one wonders if it weren't written fifty years ago, when dialogue in a film actually mattered).
There is horror and tragedy within the story, but it is never gratuitous nor glorified.
If you love great dialogue; if you love great character development and motivation; if you love great direction and timing; if you long for the days when there were actually good, solid, meaningful stories; do yourself a favor and FIND THIS MOVIE.
A great little indie thriller
udar5519 April 2022
Alcoholic wannabe writer Walter Pool (Eric Roberts) gets in over his head in Mexico when he is hired to kill someone for $100,000 for a local bad guy (Joaquim de Almeida). I was so impressed with Jack Perez's The Big Empty (1997) that I immediately sought the next feature by director Perez and writer James McManus. Believe it or not, this is even better than their previous film. It goes in directions you will never expect/guess and has some twisted dark comedy. Perez and DP Shawn Maurer capture Mexico amazingly well...which is pretty incredible as they shot the whole thing in California. Best of all, the film is a great showcase for Roberts. It was one of four features he had released that year (slow year for him, no doubt) and he gives a fantastic performance the reminds you why he was one of the hailed young talents in the 1980s.
La Cucaracha - El Magnifico!
w0aq22 August 2003
This is an interesting movie. Not the normal type of role for Eric Roberts but as usual, he does a perfect job.
Things start off interestingly with Walter running for the local cantina for some beer and it gets even more interesting from there.
Robert's character Pool seems a bit shallow at times and leaves me wondering about his wanting to be a writer. I wonder what he would have written?
Good movie - don't miss it.
Things start off interestingly with Walter running for the local cantina for some beer and it gets even more interesting from there.
Robert's character Pool seems a bit shallow at times and leaves me wondering about his wanting to be a writer. I wonder what he would have written?
Good movie - don't miss it.
Terrific indie
NateWatchesCoolMovies13 September 2016
La Cucaracha means cockroach in Spanish (duh), which is somewhat of an ironic and sad reference to the main character of this exquisite little indie character study, a damaged man named Walter Pool (Eric Roberts). Walter is a writer drowning in alcoholism as he spend his days hiding out in a Mexican shanty town. Wallowing in self despair, he's the perfect protagonist just waiting for an inciting incident, and as we all know, rural Mexico is a breeding ground for trouble of all sorts to spur on a good campfire tale. While on a bender in town, Walter is approached by a shady American lawyer (James McManus) and offered a job with malicious implications involving the son of local Mexican mobster Jose Guerra (Joaquim De Almeida). He takes the task, but nothing is what it seems and he realizes he's been set up, lied to and left for dead. Used to being a write off, something snaps in him and he fires up with a need to know the truth about Guerra and his family. He'll wish he never bothered, because the truth is disturbing and not at all what you'd expect from this kind of tequila soaked, south of the border intrigue. There's very little action, gunplay or usual thriller tropes, and pretty much all the narrative is left to the actors and the writing, making it very unique amongst this type of fare. This is essential for any Roberts fan, he's not doing one of his extended cameos or winking supporting jaunts here. He's front and center the entire time and owns it with vulnerability and resilience, especially in a curiously sad monologue that goes into his past and let's us see some of what has led him to his unique, end of the road situation. Almeida once again plays a Latin criminal, but unlike most of the other times, he's given something to do here besides wave a gun around and be the villain. He's treated intimately by the script, giving Guerra a personality, secrets and a haunted soul of his own. The scenes later in the third act between him and Roberts crackle with charisma and potency. The cover of the DVD for this shows a gunslinger type guy brandishing two pistols. Ignore that fully. Nowhere in this film is there anything that can be branded as an action flick. It's all about character, good and bad deeds, redemption, evil and choices we make. An astonishing little story that's been seen by almost no one up til now, deserving of far more accolades.
Magnificent!!! some spoilers***
fanaticita19 February 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Having only seen Eric Roberts in two films: Pope of Greenwich Village, and King of the Gypsies, I have to say I'm hooked!!! Why Robert isn't a star in the full sense of the word, I'll never know.
La Cucaracha was brilliant, taking "Warren" through a journey of self-discovery with a little help along the way. The use of "magical realism" made some moments in the film puzzling to Norteamericano audiences, I'm sure -like how he survived the shooting or the drowning. Suspend belief, folks! I loved the various genres: film noir, dark comedy, etc. And this was clearly Eric Robert's film. He was entirely believable from the opening scenes throughout to the end. Robert has one of those faces that conveys everything. If it's true that the eyes are the mirror of the soul then his performance confirms that belief.
The most comical lines are juxtaposed with tragic events: "Why is everybody so nuts???!" One of my favorite lines in the film.
For all Eric Robert's fans. . .this is a must!! See it!
La Cucaracha was brilliant, taking "Warren" through a journey of self-discovery with a little help along the way. The use of "magical realism" made some moments in the film puzzling to Norteamericano audiences, I'm sure -like how he survived the shooting or the drowning. Suspend belief, folks! I loved the various genres: film noir, dark comedy, etc. And this was clearly Eric Robert's film. He was entirely believable from the opening scenes throughout to the end. Robert has one of those faces that conveys everything. If it's true that the eyes are the mirror of the soul then his performance confirms that belief.
The most comical lines are juxtaposed with tragic events: "Why is everybody so nuts???!" One of my favorite lines in the film.
For all Eric Robert's fans. . .this is a must!! See it!
Eric Roberts fans will love this
richardwilson3113 October 2003
i bought this film close to three days ago because in england you can't catch eric roberts films everyday. I was interested in this film not only because i am a massive eric roberts fan but the idea of the film was unique. the first thing you immedietly notice with this film is that it is very low-budget, but so many independent films are, and once you give the film the initial five to ten minutes you will start to enjoy the very twisted plot. The plot is an american man gets hired to do a hit and with many twists and turns the film will unravel. beware if you don't like a film set entirly in mexico with mexican music do not get this film, believe me i am a massive eric roberts fan but the whole mexican thing got very annoying later on in the film. OVERALL a good solid eric roberts performance with the odd laugh, the odd killing and the certainly odd plot. i must finally say that joagim de almeida puts in a stunning bad guy performance even topping his portrayal as "bucho" in desperado.
brilliant and edgy subtle piece.
mollena9 October 1998
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