Renato, a Mexican aviation exec, is shocked to learn he has an American half-brother he never knew about, the free-spirited Asher. They are forced on a road trip together, tracing the path their father took from Mexico to the US.
Our film opens with a heart-warming bond between Renato and his father. How things change when his father has to go to America highlights present-day Renato and how his hatred for America runs deep even after becoming successful. One afternoon, he gets a phone call that his dad is sick and needs to come to America.
After he enters America, his father informs him that he has a brother, gives him a letter, and wants Renato and Asher to follow these clues on a scavenger hunt to determine why he made these choices. Renato is reluctant to go on the hunt, but after a call with his wife, he understands the importance of going.
As we begin on our road trip, Renato has no desire to get along with Asher and no matter how many tries Asher makes, Renato is not having it at all. Speaking of their relationship, Luis Mendez and Connor Del Rio are dynamic together. There relationship is key to making this film work, we need the banter between the two to be funny, be sarcastic but in the end bringing it all together and they do just that.
Next, the animosity that has been building over the last hour finally comes to a head in typical fashion in these movies’ style. I am more than okay with stereotypical moments like this in films of this nature because the filmmakers knew what they had, and it was a buddy-comedy style journey.
Although our course is taking the typical form, we get a moment between Renato and Asher fetching something, and it has a Spanish version of ‘I Can’t Live’ playing in the backdrop, and it’s remarkable.
Finally, you watch this movie, and throughout, you know you will get the culmination of everything that has led up to this moment, and most of the time, comedic films get this part wrong. Still, Shuman/Cisneros writing and Luke Greenfield’s directing puts the pieces together throughout the film that makes this moment mean so much and breaks you down.
The Verdict:
‘Half Brothers is a must-see buddy comedy.’
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