"Cry Macho" Directed and starring Clint Eastwood

Buy you chair a beer.

 

Yes, in many areas bribes are expected and commonly traffic stops are handled that way. I've been doing winters down there for 15 years, in the yucatan and Puerto Vallarta.

 

We enjoyed the movie. It was a lighthearted watch that touched on themes that Clint has visited in other films. I hope he and his new lady friend get a few days of enjoying each others company before he , er...moves on.

 

This is one of those films where you are waiting for something dramatic to happen, and start to get impatient halfway through. Three-quarters of the way through you just want it to end, and when it does you are angry that you just wasted two hours of your life.

 

Finally had the opportunity to watch Cry Macho. Disclaimer: I had the pleasure to work with Clint Eastwood for several years--and it was a pleasure. I like and admire the man. What a multi-talented person and good guy.

I enjoyed watching Cry Macho, but if pressed would have to admit there was some pretty bad acting.

Dwight Yoakam was not helped by being handed pages full of positively leaden expository dialog at the top of the film that's intended to set up Clint's character. Totally unnecessary verbiage. And as another poster noted, the kid is speaking in some sort of weirdly stereotyped way that doesn't hit one's ears well.

I still enjoyed seeing Clint. Whatever difficentcies the film has--and it has many--he still has screen presence.

The OP, who walked out, did miss the best part of the film IMO, which was Mike's (Clint's) budding relationship with Marta (played by Natalia Traven). Natalia Traven has almost no English language dialogue--and it is hard to believe a Mexican living on the border speaks no English--but she lit up the screen in the scenes she was in in my opinion. I found the romance tender.
Earlier @peopleareleaving asked about the song that Mike/Clint and Marta/Natalia danced to and as luck would have it I was also taken my the song and watched for it on the credits.

I was surprised. It was Eydie Gormé. Yes, that Eydie Gormé. Wife of Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gormé. I'm going to have to re-think my preconceptions of Eydie Gormé, as Sabor A Mi is a fantastic song. Eydie Gormé and Trio Los Panchos:

Bill

 

They did two albums together - both equally good.

 

I'm going to check them out. Thanks.

I will admit that my impression of Eydie Gormé (from childhood) may have been way off base. Written her off as kind of cheesy.

Time to reevaluate.

Really like Sabor A Mi.

Bill

 

Exactly! I thought the movie was dreadful. The plot was thin and acting was, shall we say, uninspired. I enjoy Clint's movies, especially those like Unforgiven, Million Dollar. But he acted every bit the 90 year old he is. This made the romantic thread less believable.
But I looked over at my wife, and she seemed to be enjoying it!

 

Just re-watched it. Even better the second time. Great movie. Among Eastwood's best.

 

And Sabor A Mi is just a GREAT song to be fair. I have never heard a bad version. Los Lobos do a killer version that is well worth hunting down.

 

Damn it’s off HBO Max already.

 

I agree entirely, Sabor A Mi is a GREAT song.

I was very blessed to have seen Los Lobos many times before they had their first major album release (and since) as they used to gig constantly around Los Angeles in those early years and Sabor A Mi was a regular feature in their sets.

I know the song well. Just not Eydie Gormé's version until now.

The Los Lobos version is on their original self-released EP Los Lobos Del Este De Los Ángeles (subsequently re-released) and on their big box set El Cancionero: Mas Y Mas and their are many live versions online.

I have also have a nice versions by The Mavericks from their En Español album from last year and one by the Mexican crooner Luis Miguel.

I wonder if Los Lobos picked this up from Eydie Gormé and Trio Los Panchos or if they had another source? I assume so, but either way, a terrific song.

Bill

 

Thanks for sharing! I was able to track it down a couple weeks ago. I was surprised to learn it was Eydie, but like it nonetheless. Also, without knowing the credit it sounds like Tony Tedesco on guitar. Classic!

Coincidentally enough, my wife and I have been traveling through New Mexico and yesterday by happenstance ate at one of the restaurants used in Cry Macho. Funny.

 

What are the odds of eating at the same restaurant?

Los Panchos have been through many personale changes over the decades but I believe they consisted of Alfredo Gil, Chucho Navarro, and Johnny Albino during the time they recorded with Eydie Gormé. Curiously, I have some of their other recordings, but was completely ignorant of the albums they made in collaboration with Gormé--which I'm learning retrospectively were their most famous recordings in the USA.

I need to track these down. Like you, my ears perked up when Sabor A Mi played during the film.

Bill

 

Watched the Blu-ray yesterday.

Not an overtly bad movie but a boring one.

Simply little real dramatic tension or appealing character movement/delineation.

The kid couldn't act, and Clint is at minimum 30 years too old for the role.

It's just a slow journey to nowhere - not a movie that makes you wince as you watch, but utterly bland and forgettable.

 

Eh....I still feel I need to see this, despite lots of less than favorable reviews. Problem is, it still shows as a $19.99 rental on Verizon On Demand etc.

It's a shame - the two movies I wanted to see over the past few months are this one and The Many Saints Of Newark, both of which seem to be stinkers, based on overwhelming opinion!

 

Saints is hardly a stinker. But Cry....

 

I managed to hunt down a 2-in-1 release of Amor and More Amor with Eydie Gorme and Trio Los Panchos.

And read up on Eydie Gorme. I had the wrong idea about her.

Good stuff.

Bill

 

F i l m s ?
So many stinkers this year.

 

Saints ?
Stinker

 

I watched this on Christmas night... I liked it quite a bit, and don't get all the negativity toward it.

People are entitled to their opinions and all, but I guess I'm not seeing a lot of what people are/were saying is so bad about this film... I'm sure I'll buy the DVD of it.

 

We paid $6.99 for it on Spectrum on Demand.

 

For some reason, On Demand (at least Verizon) offers these movies at $19.99 as "early access" and it seems they lower it to the typical $5.99 rental fee, when the physical media comes out. But not always - The Many Saints Of Newark is still $19.99 despite the physical media being available.

But back to "Cry" - wow, that was a rough one. And this is coming from a huge Eastwood fan. I see you liked it though - different strokes/different folks.

 

It's a country song, you can't go in there expecting some heavy-metal punk rock stuff like what he was doing in the sixties and seventies.

That era is gone.