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Venevision International presents

Corazón Loco (1997)

"See? We're a perfect couple. We fight about everything."- Félix (Juanjo Puigcorbé)

Stars: Juanjo Puigcorbé, Cristina Marcos, Joaquim de Almeida, Beatriz Carvajal, Anabel Alonso
Other Stars: Miguel Rellán, Beatriz Rico, Javier Cámara, Luis Barbero, Maite Pardo, Juan José Artero, Inocencio Arias, Antonio Medina, Pilar Ordóñez, José Luis Santos
Director: Antonio de Real

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nudity, language, mature situations)
Run Time: 01h:57m:40s
Release Date: 2005-01-18
Genre: foreign

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
A- A-B+B+ C-

 

DVD Review

Director Antonio de Real delivers this outrageous work place farce, Corazón Loco (Crazy Heart), which shows just how far some will go for their careers.

Félix (Juanjo Puigcorbé) is an unscrupulous real estate agent, willing to lie to no end to sell the properties he is showing in order to see himself promoted. He has some stiff competition in Lola (Cristina Marcos), who also has her eye on advancement and is hedging her bets by sleeping with their boss, Emilio (Joaquim de Almeida of Clear and Present Danger), a married man. Félix and Lola have a passionate dislike for one another, and both share a hypocrisy in their contempt for the other's work ethics and methods for promotion.

Things get complicated when Emilio's wife, Cecilia (Beatriz Carvajal), begins to get suspicious, prompting Emilio to con Félix into masquerading as Lola's boyfriend—or else. The charade doesn't sit very well with Lola, who, besides despising Félix, is also anxious for Emilio to deliver on his promise to leave his wife. Things go from bad to worse when the rest of the office staff learn of Félix and Lola's supposed affair, which also puts Emilio's nose out of joint as he begins to get jealous. Meanwhile, Cecilia has taken a liking to the fake couple, and demands they become friends and social partners. The icing on the cake is when Félix, already in hot water over his lack of commitment, is caught having dinner with Lola by his real girlfriend, Nuria (Anabel Alonso), after lying to her about having a meeting with a client. With the stakes raised, Félix turns up the heat on Emilio for his promotion, but Lola isn't going to take things lying down, getting both of them into deeper trouble when Cecilia discovers the reservations Emilio has made for a weekend getaway with his mistress, and Lola breaks some jolting news of her own.

Even if its premise isn't entirely original, Corazón Loco is a delightful comedy, brilliantly executed by its cast. Puigcorbé plays his part to the hilt, always caught in the middle of a no-win situation. From the opening frames, he had me hooked, brazenly hoodwinking his unsuspecting client with the serenity of the apartment he was showing, only to drop a payoff to the band rehearsing next door after inking the deal. Marcos is great as the fiesty Lola, using every means at her disposal to get what she wants from the men, and de Almeida holds his own as a man looking to have his cake and eat it too—and failing miserably in the process. Carvajal and Alonso round out the cast with their portrayals of the unsuspecting wife and bitter girlfriend respectively, and the supporting players add their own quirky dimension to the office. The pacing is fluid, the plot throws great curves and ups the ante at every turn, and there are plenty of memorable scenes. The barrage of uncomfortable situations is extremely humorous, and the ending, while fairly predictable, is rewarding.

Rating for Style: A-
Rating for Substance: A-

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicno


Image Transfer Review: Corazón Loco is presented in a nonanamorphic 1.85:1 transfer. Image quality is quite good overall, but does look a little on the soft side in places. Colors are generally punchy, but the film tends to have a bit of a yellow cast to it, and there is a slight bit of bleed. Black levels are even but are a little light in appearance. The source print is free of any major defects.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
DS 2.0Spanishno


Audio Transfer Review: The stereo soundtrack is clean and free of any technical deficiencies. Dialogue is easily discernable and not overly sibilant. There is not much in the lower registers, but this doesn't thin out the sound, just makes it less full.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 18 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
Cast and Crew Filmographies
1 Original Trailer(s)
Packaging: generic plastic keepcase
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extras Review: The film's theatrical trailer (unfortunately without subtitles) and filmographies for the director and the principle cast are the only extras.

Chapter menus are full motion.

Extras Grade: C-
 

Final Comments

For those seeking something a little bit different, Corazón Loco is a funny, fast-paced workplace comedy with plenty of twists to keep things moving. Recommended.

Jeff Ulmer 2005-02-18