The new teaser trailer for Casa de mi Padre, starring Will Ferrell, asks a very important question: “Who is Armando Alvarez?” And beyond the context of the film’s story is this question important. Who is Will Ferrell capable of playing? We’ve seen the hapless schmoe. We’ve seen the belligerent manchild. We’ve seen the malicious villain. We’ve seen the gallant epitome of machismo. We’ve seen him to do much. But we’ve only seen him do it in English. What new folds of the Will Ferrell universe might we discover via the entrancing tongue of español?
Language is a powerful force. It can turn a timid man into a roaring lion, a grumbling grouch into the most polite of gentlefolk. So, can Spanish change the way we intercept Will Ferrell? Will Casa de mi Padre not invite us to celebrate the same man in a new format, but to celebrate a new man altogether? I would not bet against this. Ferrell has surprised us before, with wonders like Stranger than Fiction and Melinda and Melinda. But those didn’t change his career; both films were, unfortunately, passed over by Ferrell fans. But this one, this merge of his comedic stylings and a whole new scope, might very will bring the deeper Ferrell out into the world. Dare I say, Casa de mi Padre might change Ferrell, and the rest of us, forever.
You can watch the life-altering trailer in HD at Apple.com. Casa de mi Padre reaches theaters March 16.
