Watch Pulling Strings

Pulling Strings is a romantic comedy movie released in 2013 directed by Pitipol Ybarra, starring Laura Ramsey, Jaime Camil, and Omar Chaparro. The plot is centered around Rachel (Laura Ramsey), a young woman from a privileged background relocated to Mexico City, where she works as a diplomat at the American Embassy. Her first day at work is a nightmare, with a significant server failure delaying her from contacting emergency services.

Rachel decides to celebrate her failed attempts at flagging up her emergency by dancing the night away at a club where she meets Alejandro (Jaime Camil), a mariachi singer in dire need of Rachel's help to obtain his US visa. Overwhelmed by the boisterous Jessica (Stockard Channing) harassing her for an embassy favor, Rachel, wanting to escape from the situation, makes up an excuse pretending to be engaged to Alejandro.

When Rachel wakes up the next day, she realizes that her passport and phone are missing. Living out a nightmare, Rachel must rely on Alejandro's help to obtain new identification, but the ordeal leads them to a deeper romantic connection. Alejandro also introduces Rachel to his like-minded brother and laid-back roommate at their humble abode, where Rachel is amazed to find Alejandro's son going to school and living above his grandfather's tiny music shop.

Throughout the movie, Rachel gradually learns more about Alejandro's life and his struggles as illegal immigrants. Alejandro's impending lack of a visa renewal compounds his fear of missing his son's milestone events. Rachel then takes matters into her own hands to help Alejandro without any embassy assistance; she confronts her boss, a powerful US diplomat ready to pull strings to alleviate Alejandro's visa predicament in this light, amusing plot.

The movie showcases some of the most prominent touristy places and experiences such as the traditional musical art of Mariachi and conversation in Spanish, among others, while keeping the plot light-hearted and focused on the emotional connection between Rachel and Alejandro. The movie emphasizes the cultural differences and barriers that Rachel has to overcome to help Alejandro and the complications she, herself, faces due to fabricating a false engagement story with Alejandro.

Each actor in the movie has played their role with the utmost effort, but the movie's charm's primary credit goes to the comedic timing between Laura Ramsey and Jaime Camil. Laura Ramsey, who has so far played smaller roles in American movies, has carried the weight of the movie with ease and proficiently handled a bilingual script. Her role as a dutiful diplomat has been well portrayed with gradual character arc progression from uptight embassy worker to taking matters into her own hands out of empathy and concern.

Jaime Camil, a popular Mexican TV actor, and singer, has done commendable justice to his character, portraying the delicate balance between family, tradition, and ambition in Alejandro's life. He gave the right amount of comic relief that uplifts the film's heartwarming feeling.

Omar Chaparro, portraying Alejandro's brother, has also done an excellent job of adding a layer of comedy to his character while maintaining the deep-rooted struggles of being an immigrant in Mexico City. He has also played an outstanding mariachi singer; his voice stimulates the feeling of a traditional Mexican man serenading a woman.

In conclusion, Pulling Strings is an amusing and lighthearted romantic comedy movie that showcases the cultural differences between the USA and Mexico. Despite the film's language barrier, the comic timing and direction of the cast's performances make the movie bearable and enjoyable. It's also an excellent watch for those needing a break from the usual Hollywood rom-com scenes, because of it's fresh and unique setting.

Pulling Strings is a 2013 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 52 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.1 and a MetaScore of 57.