Jenaro el de los 14 (1974) Poster

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6/10
Silly but agreeable comedy well starred by the great Alfredo Landa and professionally directed by prolific Mariano Ozores
ma-cortes2 July 2019
Amusing , acceptable but average comedy with top-notch actors , and being middlingly made by the prolific Mariano Ozores . Silly comedy deals with the country man Jenaro (Alfredo Landa) who lives at an Extremadura village along with his mother Doña Balbina (Mari Carmen Prendes) ; then , he wins a fortune in a soccer pool and all young girls want to marry to him . Problems emerge when Jenaro has to leave his small place to go to the big city, Madrid , to get the money . Then the humble Jenaro becomes involved in compulsive buying by booking a five stars great Hotel and to rise his life style . While his friend (Juanjo Menendez) provides him all kinds of amusements and he attempts to take advantage of him . Things go wrong when the villagers (Francisco Pierrá , Valeriano Andres , Mari Carmen Prendes , Laly Soldevilla , Erasmo Pascual) , his mother , the priest , the Mayor , among others , appear at the capital to pay him a visit , creating extreme disorder , chaos and causing confusion at the flat in which Jenaro lives along with three bad-life girls (Maria Luisa San José , Morales , Josele Román) .

The film partially portrays the society of the seventies with the contrast between rustic civilization and urban one , and being full of frivolity , egoism , duplicity , and deceits . It is a nutty Spanish comedy that offers no intellectual stimulus whatsoever , though it has some fun and hilarious moments . Humor is sometimes cheesy and gross-out with numerous naughty and picaresque situations . This hilarious as well as average film is full of humor , absurd scenes , and narrating the conflict between the traditional Spanish society and modernity . It is a simple , and humorous portrait of a time when the Spanish people live in the developing boom , including the consuming society and ambitious people . Its nostalgic look has some passable moments that reflect a Spain of the sixties and seventies : a poor country in economic developing during the years when the action takes place . It is full of typical Spanish topics , a simple plot and including atmospheric sets . This film is made to entertain , and this movie , especially for a good time and a pleasant entertainment , including bewildering happenings . The flick packs silly incidents , funny comical sketches , tongue-in-cheek , grotesque situations and above all , it especially contains catching touches of humor and irony . Sitting in a strange middle ground between the completely absurd and the stylishly agreeable . There are some nice jokes in the film and the cast , playing eccentric characters , make a cosy fit . This is a fun and funny , though mediocre , Spanish comedy with the great Alfredo Landa as a villager who wins a football pool and he then will find that women who overlooked him are willing to wed him . Alfredo was one of the best and more popular Spanish actors and creator a cinematic subgenre : Landismo. His long career is formed by 110 films for forty years . In his first period through the 60s he starred secondary comical roles in notorious titles as El Verdugo by Berlanga , Ninette y un Señor de Murcia by Fernando Fernan Gomez , and No somos de piedra by Manuel Summers .After the successful No desearas el vecino del quinto by Ramon Fernandez , he performed over 30 comedies in Spanish style : "a la Española" , creating the "Landismo", including titles as Prestamela 15 dias , No desearas la mujer del vecino , Simon contamos contigo , Guapo heredero busca esposa , Dormir ligar todo es empezar , No firmes mas letras cielo , Vente a ligar al Oeste , Jenaro el de los 14 , Manolo La Nuit , Un curita cañon , El reprimido . His third period starts with El puente by JA Bardem , being directed by prestigious filmmakers as Jose Luis Garci in Las verdes praderas , El crack I, El crack II , Cancion de cuna ; Antonio Mercero in La proxima estacion ; Luis Garcia Berlanga in La vaquilla ; Basilio Martin Patino directed him in Los parasos perdidos , Jose Luis Borau in Tata mia and J.L Cuerda in El bosque animado . And standing out important characters in Los Santos Inocentes by Mario Camus , Don Quijote TV series and El Rey del rio by Manuel Gutierrez Aragon . Alfredo Landa is well accompanied by a great support cast . This ¨Jenaro el de los 14¨displays a very good secondary casting giving acceptable interpretations , such as : Josele Román ,Mari Carmen Prendes , Alfonso Del Real , Manuel Alexandre , Mirta Miller , Erasmo Pascual , Valeriano Andrés , Guadalupe Muñoz Sampedro , Mariano Ozores , Joaquin Roa , Victor Israel , Rafael Hernández , Juanjo Menéndez , Florinda Chico , Jaime De Mora y Aragon, Laly Soldevila , Fabian Conde , Ricardo Tundidor , Ricardo Merino and special appearance by presenter Jose Maria Iñigo .

¨Jenaro el de los 14¨ is a passable picture with some amusing moments , being professional but middlingly by Mariano Ozores in his usual style , getting big success in the Spanish box office and he made several flicks in similar wake . Mariano's family origin is into show business , being son of Mariano Ozores Sr and brother of José Luis Ozores and Antonio Ozores . Furthermore , uncle of Emma Ozores and Adriana Ozores who here appears briefly as a host woman . Mariano is a craftsman filmmaker and writer , in fact he wrote the fun screenplay , he recently won a Goya Award (2016) to his long and fruitful career . The latter made with these two famous comedians , -Fernando Esteso and Andres Pajares- several films , as they had various years partnership between the two leads , such as ¨Agitese Antes Usarla¨ , ¨Al Este Del Oeste¨, ¨Los Liantes¨, ¨Los Energeticos¨, ¨La Lola Lleva Al Huerto¨ , ¨El Currante¨ , ¨El Hijo Del Cura¨...these films are filled with humor that still holds up , especially for those not easily offended ; being sometimes cheesy and gross-out with numerous naughty and picaresque situations such as sex jokes , adulteries , crazy events , nudism , absurd situations , jealousy , and erotic scenes . Plus , they partially reflected the mood and the reality of Spain in the immediate Post-Franco era , dealing with politic juncture about the post-Franquismo in similar style to other films from this period . Ozores has a prolific career , as writer and as director , especially in comedy genre such as : Disparate Nacional , Tahiti's Girl , Brujas Magicas , Los Presuntos , Cuatro Mujeres Y Un Lío , Tío ¿De Verdad Vienen De París? , Alcalde Por Elección , Ellas Los Prefieren... Locas , El Apolítico , Jenaro El De Los 14 , Manolo La Nuit , El Abuelo Tiene plan , La Llamaban La Madrina , La Graduada , Venta Por Pisos and many others . Being his ordinary actors , the followings : Alfredo Landa , Lina Morgan , Paco Martínez Soria , Antonio Ozores , Jose Luis Ozores , Juanito Navarro . Rating : 5.5/10 .
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7/10
Nice and true comedy.
paradisebeyond4 May 2007
This comedy tells the story of a humble-country man who wins a fortune in football pools. He has to leave his small village to come to the big city, to get the money. Suddenly, he will find that girls who overlooked him are willing to marry him.

You may find it so very corny. But never mind the old fashioned it may look, just watch it, considering this is a Spanish comedy. Perhaps it is hard for a non-Spaniard to understand this kind of humour - as it's hard for a Spaniard to understand Mr. Bean's humour, but for those who have enjoyed Torrente, and who know a little bit about life in villages in late 60's and 70's, may find this satiric glimpse at their uses very entertaining and realistic.

Alfredo Landa's performance is fair. Perhaps he was not the actor to perform Hamlet, but it seems this role was made for him. Cast also includes Florinda Chico and aristocrat Jaime de Mora y Aragón.
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