It’s Better That Gabriela Doesn’t Die
Cinequest 2008
Mejor es que Gabriela no se muera
I loved it. Not the best movie of the festival, but SO very funny. In Mexico, a man gets hassled by a cop. When the cop discovers the man is a writer for his favorite telenovela, he lets him go – on the condition that the writer tells him what will happen on the show. Well, after the cop then goes and blabs to everyone he knows that the main character, Gabriela, will marry the villain – the actress who plays her quits the next day! So her character now has a terminal illness instead of a wedding, and the writer has a problem on his hands.
The movie is hilarious in parts, although there were a few times that all of us in the audience thought there may be some serious violence (the cop is not very happy to have been shamed in front of his friends, co-workers AND mother-in-law), no drastic violence occurs and the movie keeps its comedy intact. The last 20 minutes are laugh out loud hilarious, although I’m not sure of the significance of the last 5 minutes of the movie, overall I thought it was a WHOLE lot of fun. Anyone who has watched a telenovela (even if you don’t understand them!) or a soap opera will love this movie.
Popcorn and Vodka 