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Film
'Papi' is pure pap
The filmmakers responsible for the moronic comedy Chasing Papi should be the ones who flee.
By MARTY CLEAR
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 17, 2003
[Photo: Twentieth Century Fox]
From left, Patricia (Jaci Velasquez), Cici (Sofia Vergara) and Lorena (Roselyn Sanchez) seek revenge on the man who three-timed them.
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It's hard to know what to dislike most about Chasing Papi.
Maybe it's the horrendously hackneyed premise: A guy dates several women. The women find out. Madcap high jinks ensue.
Maybe it's that not one of the main characters could win a battle of wits with Shemp Howard or that they apparently learned their crisis management from I Love Lucy.
Maybe it's that the plot depends on people behaving in ways that no sentient being would.
Probably, though, the most annoying aspect of Chasing Papi is that it doesn't have one funny moment.
The title character, who is unconscious for most of the film, is a rich, gorgeous executive in Los Angeles. He has three beautiful girlfriends in three cities. One day, all decide to visit him, and all arrive within about two minutes of one another. (Even though all leave at the same time, the one who flies from Chicago and the one who drives from Miami get to Los Angeles simultaneously.)
Poor Papi can't handle the pressure. He has a couple of cocktails, swallows a bunch of tranquilizers and passes out.
Just then, a fourth woman arrives at the house, but the three women won't let her in.
For reasons that are never made clear, the three girlfriends load unconscious Papi into a car, get a hotel suite and sneak him into the room.
If even one of the women had thought to answer the door and talk to the newcomer -- the logical thing -- it would have been the end of the story. But instead, the girlfriends get involved with some dimwitted mob bagmen, one has to pretend to be Miss Puerto Rico and all have to pose as dancers for Sheila E.
Papi sleeps through it all. Lucky Papi.
(By the way, even the title is nonsensical. Not once does anyone chase Papi.)
Even if you could overlook the logical inconsistencies and the idiotic behavior, you'd still be left with a mess of a film.
This is the first feature for director Linda Mendoza, who has done a lot of sketch comedy TV shows (Kenan and Kel, Mad TV, etc.). There's no evidence that she has any idea how to pace a full-length movie or to impart a sense of style on a film. The photography is abysmal, and the use of music is inept.
On the positive side, the three women -- Roselyn Sanchez, Sofia Vergara and Jaci Velasquez -- are really pretty, and so is Papi, Eduardo Verastegui. That's about it.
Chasing Papi
- Grade: F
- Director: Linda Mendoza
- Writers: Laura Angelica Simon, Steve Antin, Alison Balian, Liz Sarnoff.
- Cast: Roselyn Sanchez, Sofia Vergara, Jaci Velasquez, Eduardo Verastegui, Lisa Vidal, D.L. Hughley, Freddy Rodriguez.
- Rating: PG for mild sensuality and language
- Running time: 85 minutes
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