Pulling Strings

The plot of this bilingual, cross-cultural romantic comedy is too contrived and silly to go into in detail. Suffice it to say it involves the leader of a Mexico City mariachi band (Jaime Camil), a visa clerk at the American Embassy (Laura Ramsey) and a lost computer. With little help from the script (a typical too-many-cooks affair involving Issa López, Georgina Reidel, Gabriel Ripstein and Oscar Orlando Torres), director Pedro Pablo Ibarra is forced to rely on the sights of Mexico City and the appeal of his two stars. Fortunately, sights and stars deliver on a modestly likeable level. Camil has presence and charm, plus a pleasant singing voice and a nice rapport with Ramsey (a Naomi Watts lookalike). Stockard Channing and Tom Arnold contribute drive-by cameos as Ramsey's mother and boss, respectively.