Watching The Mexican reminded me somewhat of a movie Kathryn Hepburn and Cary Grant might do. Two big stars in less than glamorous roles in plot more twisted than believable. And the end result is entertaining.

The Mexican in question is a very old gun, with beautiful workmanship and a cloudy heritage, which we learn about along the way via three sepia-toned news reels. Brad Pitt plays Jerry, who's sent to Mexico to get the gun, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Samantha, played by Julia Roberts. She wants to go to Vegas.

But Jerry has no choice but to go, so he heads south to pick up the gun. Meanwhile Samantha decides to head north, going to Vegas by herself. It's an odd way to start a road picture, with the stars heading off in different directions, but this movie is rather odd.

To begin with, Jerry is obviously more than a few sandwiches short of a picnic. In fact, he's so dopey it's like watching a cartoon character and knowing that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. And Samantha is such a whiny thing that the less we see of her, the better. Not that she isn't cute and adorable, just that one set of teeth can only go so far, and they are stretched a tad thin here.

Then there's James Gandolfini as Leroy the notorious hit man who kidnaps Samantha to get at Jerry. Along the way, Samantha befriends Leroy, uncovers the fact that he's gay, and then treats him like her closest girlfriend, even helping him out with a relationship that blossoms along the way.

The plot desperately wants to be zany and madcap, ala Hepburn and Grant. But it tries far too hard. The many bumpy twists and turns quickly begin to feel arbitrary, and there's little clarity in the resolution.

Not that the film is without merit. There's a nice collection of running gags about roads, vehicles, and American tourists. Like Jerry refusing to rent a Chrysler, preferring something more Mexican, and then thinking he's pretty sharp in his El Camino. Meanwhile Samantha, Leroy and his lover are squished into her new VW beetle. It certainly has a place in the genre of road pics.

But the final result is that The Mexican is entertaining, and worth a look, but not really good enough to enjoy without clarification. I think it's a movie that will live well on a video shelf, it's just not quite right on the big screen.


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