REVIEW: BANDIDAS

If you've seen this flick on video store shelves, this cover isn't going to be familiar to you. The one they used has Salma and Penelope looking all airbrushed and stylish, which is not how they appear in this film. I chose this alternate cover image because it more accurately represents their characters and the feel of the movie. This is probably the first-ever comedy western starring two latinas, and I loved it.

The setup is pretty basic. Salma plays the president's overpriviledged daughter while Penelope plays a dirt farmer's daughter, and the two must become allies when whitey comes to take over their small Mexican town. The two become bank robbers and give the money back to the people, dodging whitey's bullets and eventually enlisting the help of a bumbling crime scene scientist (Steve Zahn - always funny).

The reason this movie is so good is because of the chemistry the two leads have, and the filmmaking know-how of producer Luc Besson. The fights and action scenes are all excellent, particularly an amazing train car shootout sequence full of flying bullets, knives and explosions. But the bottom line here is Salma and Penelope ARE FUNNY. Truly funny. It's sad that a movie like this would never stand a chance of making box-office bank. I blame whitey, as usual.