Review: TUYA, MÍA... TE LA APUESTO Celebrates a Stereotypical Mexican Soccer Aficionado

Actor Adrián Uribe, whose most famous TV character is the Vítor, a stereotypical ordinary Mexican from a working-class hood, stars in Tuya, mía… Te la apuesto, a new Mexican/Colombian comedy that is, naturally, chock-full of stereotypes.

Uribe plays Mariano, a character that fulfills with several cliches of the poor Mexican, almost as if the producers wondered about how could they reach the “plebs” with their product.

Is Mariano a macho that treats his beautiful Colombian girlfriend (played by Julieth Restrepo) as a servant? Yes.

Does he still lives with his mother even if he’s in his forties? Yes and not only that, since his girlfriend, brother, uncle, aunt and grandmother live in the same house as well. Mexicans are too attached to their families, they say.

Is he a lazy worker? Certainly, he clearly hates his tedious bureaucratic job.

Is he a religious man? Of course, he won’t hesitate to go to church to ask for some miracle.

Does he loves getting drunk? Yes! He’s Mexican, what did you expect?

And finally, is soccer the most important thing in life for Mariano? You could definitely argue that.

Tuya, mía… Te la apuesto premiered in Mexico just months prior the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the perfect time to throw to the mix the cliches of the Mexican soccer aficionado.

Is Mariano obsessed with the national football team of Mexico? Yes, he never misses a match and always wears proudly the green jersey.

Is he willing to make a religious vow in support of Mexico’s soccer squad? Obviously, there’s a scene that shows exactly this prior the final World Cup qualifier match between Mexico and the United States.

Does he has a superstitious ritual? Clearly, Mariano believes that when playing at the Azteca stadium, Mexico only wins if he’s in attendance.

Is he dumb enough to not separate the sport passion from his personal life? Yup, the movie’s main scenario actually kicks off when Mariano bets all of his and his girlfriend's savings, twice, on a Mexican victory over the US.

Are Mariano’s rivals the typical football fans who don’t really believe in the Mexican squad? Yes, his uncle and his boss both represent another cliche, the Mexican who likes soccer but prefers foreign leagues and teams and, in result, is often labeled as “malinchista.”

Once Tuya, mía… Te la apuesto establishes its idiotic, unlikable protagonist - who is ready to risk everything for the Selección nacional (the Mexican representative) -, it’s an interminable comedy based on one single gag: Mariano can’t accomplish his ritual of going to the stadium and, by keep on trying despite many obstacles (including the funeral of a close relative), he represents the Mexican who puts soccer before everything, including work, a relationship and family.

I could go on and on mentioning the movie’s senseless scenes (i.e. when the Colombian woman momentarily leaves said funeral and decides to watch the soccer game and drink in a bar) and poorly developed storylines (i.e. Mariano has a strong bond with his brother, who only in one sequence is seen flirting with Mariano’s girlfriend); or how it throws a moralist message (in the vein of its soap opera domestic drama feel) before returning to celebrate the cliched Mexican football fan. But the most important thing is that Tuya, mía… Te la apuesto is not even mildly funny; I actually watched it in a nearly empty theater, where only a couple of jokes had a notorious reaction. That’s, indeed, the real problem of a stereotypical, populist comedy like this one.