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Bandidas (2006) DVD Review
Bandidas (2006) DVD Credits:
Bandidas (2006) Directed by:
Joachim Roenning, Espen Sandberg
Bandidas (2006) Written by:
Robert Mark Kamen, Luc Besson
Bandidas (2006) Cast:
Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn, Dwight Yoakam, Joe Reitman
Bandidas (2006) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Bandidas (2006) DVD Release Date:
9th January 2007
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Bandidas (2006) Synopsis:

A comedy-adventure set in 1888 Mexico, in which two women – one a European-educated sophisticate, the other a rough-and-tumble peasant — reluctantly join forces to fight a ruthless enforcer… by becoming celebrated bank robbers.

Bandidas (2006) DVD Review:

A genre’s ability to survive in public popularity is based upon its ability to adapt. For many years westerns were thought to be dead, but Deadwood brought the genre back to popularity for a short while with its foul-mouthed and brilliant dialogue. While westerns were back in The Proposition, an Australian set western, was one of the best independent films this past year, and several other films attempted to ride the wave as well. Perhaps there was some doubt that a western chick-flick would succeed, because Bandidas was never released theatrically. Western comedies are notorious for failing in the box office, and this may have been another reason, but whatever caused the decision it was probably a wise one.

Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz are Sara and Maria, two Mexican women of completely different backgrounds who band together to rob Mexican banks when a greedy political figure from America (Dwight Yoakam) begins stealing land from poor landowners to build train track down Mexico. When the women cause enough trouble robbing the banks an expert is brought in (Steve Zahn), but the women convince him to help them when they take him hostage. Zahn has a few humorous moments, but his talent for line delivery is all but wasted. Yoakam is horrible as the villain, from his deliberate facial hair to his stiff delivery he should not be an actor.

The leading ladies of Bandidas seem to be showing off their comedic skills in the silly roles, but the film never seems fully supportive of this attempt. There is too much focus on the slightly sexually exploitive situations they are put in. Even their costumes, which have them in cowboy hats with guns, without sacrificing pigtails and plenty of cleavage, show the women as two attractive characters which are better suited looking pretty than being funny. No matter the situations they are put in, whether fighting each other and getting wet from holy water, or robbing a bank, they always look perfectly done up. A smudge of dirt on the cheek does nothing but increase the intentional appeal of the stars, which can be more distracting than helpful to the film.

The DVD contains an audio commentary track with Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz, in which the ladies talk about how they made the director and producers nervous when they would speak in Spanish to each other on set, which was not understood by the people in charge. The celebrities banded together and had a language to communicate in and make decisions as a pair. There is also a featurette about the actresses on set.

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Bandidas (2006) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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