Ladron que Roba a Ladron

The title translates roughly as “Thieves who steal from thieves,” and that’s what happens, as two Mexican con men in L.A. (Fernando Colunga, Miguel Varoni) enlist a crew of undocumented immigrants to run a game on a tycoon (Saúl Lisazo) who’s grown obscenely rich by selling worthless patent medicines on TV to desperate Hispanic viewers. JoJo Henrickson’s Spanish-language script is cleverly constructed (and, one suspects, somewhat funnier than the English subtitles suggest), and director Joe Menendez keeps the caper purring along with light-fingered ease. Some of the plotting is a stretch (digging an underground tunnel is probably tougher than it looks here), and the acting gets a little over the top, but no harm done. A good Robin Hood con-game can be pretty satisfying, and this one delivers the goods.