Personally, we preferred the alternative title of the movie, Get The Gringo, which sounds a lot less like a rom-com misnomer. Mel Gibson plays the titular gringo, who doesn`t really have a name… since he steals them from other people to supplement his career as a con artist. An unfortunate turn of events leads to him being thrown in a Mexican jail after getting caught on the border with $4 million of Mobster dough.
The jail in question, however, seems less like an incarceration facility than a cross between a dive mall and a slum, a rich backdrop that adds some salsa to what would have been generic proceedings. Gibson`s Gringo also ends up making unlikely friends in a ten year old street punk (Kevin Hernandez) and his widowed mother (Dolores Heredia), which lends the story another interesting angle besides the usual evisceration of gangster goons and corrupt cops.
The plot is nearly incomprehensible, the action frenetic, the mood sleazier than a red light district motel… and it all adds up to a admittedly invigorating experience. Gibson as a near sociopathic, highly amoral and damn-well street smart outsider is a lot more entertaining to us than Gibson the kilt-wearing, anachronistic Braveheart (although that may be more telling of our taste than his). The film also shows a surprisingly engaging sense of humour, taking the piss out of everything from spaghetti Westerns to Clint Eastwood to the Mariachi soundtracks of Desperado.
How I Spent My Summer Vacation is pungent, messy and vibrant. Highbrow viewers will undoubtedly hurry past holding their noses, but for those of you who like to slum in the seedier corners of action-thrillers once in a while, this movie will feel a lot like home.
Summary: We certainly got this gringo. An entertainingly grimy action-fest.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Raphael Lim