What’s up! I’m Marlon, and this is Ulven Reviews: movies and series from all over the world.
Today let’s talk about the 2020 Colombian Romantic Comedy Loco por vos, starring Laura Londoño and Roberto Urbina and directed by Felipe Martínez Amador.
Lucas (played by Roberto Urbina) and Simón or Simon (they pronounce it both ways in the movie) (played by Raúl Ocampo) work at an advertising agency in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital.
Their boss, Johanna (played by Monica Lopera), asks them to shelter her paisa cousin Lina (played by Laura Londoño) for one night (I’ll explain what is paisa later).
Lucas and Lina meet each other and get along too well, spending the night together. However, the day after, Lina gives Lucas the cold shoulder.
Already in love, Lucas goes after Lina in Medellin, and to spend some time with her, he’ll also have to spend some time with her family, who hates Bogotans (rolos, as they call).
Today’s video is a Valentine’s Day special. So, happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope y’all have a great one with your significant other… or others… or yourself.
Loco por vos came to my attention while I was listening to a song on YouTube. The top comment on the video Canción Simple by Superlítio, mentions the movie. I decided to give it a shot, even though it’s not exactly a genre I usually chpose.
It was on my Netflix list for quite a while, so when I realized Valentine’s Day was close, I thought such a romantic comedy would be fit to celebrate the day.
The romance in question is between a rolo and a paisa with a family that hates rolos.
Rolo, I already said, it’s a word for Bogotans. It was a pejorative term (according to God knows where I read it online), but now it’s pretty accepted.
Paisa refers to people from a region of Colombia that I previously thought was the department of Antioquia but actually includes several departments.
And extra info: the correct word for people from Colombia is Colombian, not Columbian. I see the incorrect term being used way too often, so I thought it might be useful for some.
Loco por vos is full of romantic clichés, like the partner the family doesn’t accept or falling in such a dazzling love that you’ll do the unthinkable for it.
There are other tropes typical of romantic comedies that you can check for yourself if you decide to watch it.
Despite all that, the movie is unique enough to be captivating, and in addition, it’s hilarious. I was expecting some mildly funny jokes like those run-of-the-mill romantic comedies, but I like this one better.
Some of it I didn’t quite understand, because of cultural reasons. Lina and Lucas tease each other about the stereotypes from Medellín and Bogotá, things I’m not familiar with and might be amusing for those who get it.
For most of the movie, the mood is light and enjoyable. It only gets slightly downbeat when the end approaches, as you can probably imagine. It’s a romantic comedy, and the ending doesn’t escape the standard.
I was a little torn about the last act of the film. The ending itself was ok, but everything that preceded it bothered me a little. Of course, I won’t be specific to avoid spoilers, but my upcoming description of the characters might shed some light on it.
I like them all. Even the unpleasant characters were decent. The best example is the closest of an antagonist the movie had: Juan José Juanjo (played by Ramón Marulanda). He’s Lina’s obnoxious ex, but he’s too funny to dislike.
Three other characters with prominence because of the humor are Uncle Víctor Hugo (played by Federico Rivera) and two cousins, Juan Pedro (played by Daniel Patiño AKA PaisaVlogs) and Juan David (played by Reykon). These three deliver some laughs, my favorite being the one played by Reykon.
I hope I’m not misnaming no one because Lina and Johanna’s cousins are Juan David, Juan Esteban, Juan Pedro, and Juan Guillermo. The last one is a child, so I know I got it right.
At first, I thought I would not like Simón. He talks too fast and was saying some words I didn’t understand. He was probably talking based on the paisa stereotypes I mentioned earlier.
He got me insecure about my understanding of Spanish, like that time I watched most of a movie thinking harina means urine when it actually means flour.
But fortunately, this time was just Simón talking fast. The rest of the movie went fine, and even his character got to me. He’s was a decent and funny sidekick.
Johanna is one of my favorites. The first impression was that she would be a very peripheral character, just a bridge between Lina and Lucas, but she was an active and fundamental part of the whole story. In addition, she was funny as the others I already mentioned.
I like the protagonist couple, both individually as well as them together. Their romance is really compelling, and that’s what makes us invested in the story and rooting for them.
Lucas is calmer and easy-going. The first scene has Simón’s craziness and outgoing attitude, while Lucas holds him back, balancing things. He only starts taking risks regarding Lina, first trying to get Johanna’s phone to get Lina’s number, and later when he goes to Medellin after her.
He seems a regular and relatable guy, and nothing is outstanding in his life. Well, maybe his appearance is above average, very handsome guy, but that’s it. Usual job, apartment, friends, etc. Then a girl enters the picture and completely rocks his world.
The girl in question, Lina, is from an apparently wealthy family, with a much stronger personality and drive than him. She’s full of projects and not willing to let anyone get in her way.
She changed Lucas’ life only by entering it. The point is if she’ll allow herself to be touched and changed by him as well, realizing she doesn’t need to give up on love for her dreams nor vice-versa.
This balance one can give another just reminded me of Carl Gustav Jung’s concept of Self. Maybe another day can analyze some movies using Analytical Psychology, but for now, I’m way too rusty for it.
The performances were excellent. The drama was handled perfectly by the two main actors, Laura Londoño and Roberto Urbina, but also by her parents, played by Carmenza Cossio and Germán Quintero.
The comedy was marvelously taken care of by the remaining cast. Everyone did well, but my highlight is easily Monica Lopera. I loved how she used her body and facial expressions as well to make the humor much more effective.
The cinematography is decent, pretty average. I already talked too much so, I will leave it at that.
The score is really perfect, and I’m not only talking about Canción Simple, which I listen to compulsively as my life depends on it. The rest of the songs have great reasoning behind them.
A good example is when Lina is mocking how Lucas and Simón’s party is down. Lucas changes to a much more upbeat song, brings Lina an Aguardiente, and they start dancing. The song brought the mood to what the scene needed.
After a lot of procrastination, I’ve finally watched Loco por vos and really liked it. Maybe, if it wasn’t for the upcoming Valentine’s Day, I would still be putting the movie off.
It was hilarious, relatable, charming, and the characters and acting won me over. However, most of the story is very cliché, and I would like to see more inspired cinematography. I’ll give Loco por vos 7 Moons!
That’s it for now. Once again, I encourage you to like, subscribe, comment, and share it with friends, acquaintances, and enemies. Some suggested videos will appear on the screen in a bit, you might give those ones some attention to, if you like.
Thanks for watching see you in the next video.
Dos Ratos 