Writer-director Carlos Cuarón, brother of Alfonso Cuarón, tells the colorful tale of the soccer-loving Verdusco brothers: Beto (Diego Luna, “Y tu mamá también,” “Milk”) plays a goalkeeper with the nickname “El Rudo” (“The Tough”), and Tato (Gael García Bernal, “Bad Education,” “Babel”) is a goal-scorer with the nickname “El Cursi” (“The Corny”). They toil on a banana plantation and star on the local team. “Here’s where I enter the story,” narrates Darío “Batuta” Vidali (Guillermo Francella), an Argentinean scout who recruits the brothers for pro teams. The brothers soon find themselves living the high life in Mexico City. Tato indulges in his dream of scoring fame as a pop singer and makes a tacky music video. Beto’s off-field indulgence is gambling. To get out of debt, he agrees to fix a game whose final score will dash their glory. With a wry take on Mexican celebrity, class and corruption, Cuarón entertains with a plot of brotherly love and rivalry. There’s a recurring bit about being your brother’s goalkeeper for balls kicked to or from the right. Their sister Nadia (Tania Esmeralda Aguilar) marries Don Casimiro (Alfredo Alfonso.) This drug-dealer builds the big house for her mother Elvira (Dolores Heredia) that her brothers never could. The new member of the clan also enables their post-scandal careers, as the closing titles update their stories. The narrating recruiter resumes scouting the backroads for new prospects. The brotherhood of Mexican talent behind “Rudo y Cursi” includes the producing team of Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro, who named their company “Cha Cha Cha.” With Adriana Paz, Jessica Mas, Salvador Zerboni, Joaquín Cosío. 102m. (Bill Stamets)
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