No two people are the same, everyone has differences. Physically families seem to show similarities but even they are not carbon copies of one another. This is not only true for our physical appearance but also how we think and feel. We all have our own opinions and our views of the world at large are not completely alike. Factors such as our upbringing, the part of the world we are from and those older individuals who help shape us, play into how we see everything and everyone around us. For Rudy, this also includes his love of music.
Rudy (Rudy Mancuso; The Flash) sees the everyday world differently. While other people may see two guys in the park playing basketball, Rudy experiences a drum rhythm keeping the beat as the ball bounces against the pavement. Similarly, others would see a girl swinging back and forth on a swing set while Rudy hears the melody of a song as the swing squeaks with each rotation back and forth. For the musician in him, it opens his eyes and mind to songs that play incessantly in his head. For the regular guy, it is often distracting and interferes with his daily life.
Rudy gets distracted while in class when talking to his girlfriend, Haley (Francesca Reale; Stranger Things), and even when he is having dinner at home with his mom. So when Haley dumps Rudy, the last thing Rudy needs is to meet someone new. Enter Isabella (Camila Mendes; Riverdale)...the beautiful, intelligent, Brazilian, young woman working at the fish store. Spending time with Isabella opens Rudy up in ways he never thought possible but when Haley wants him back he starts dating both ladies at the same time, and the results are disastrous. At the same time, these two women have just opened Rudy up creatively which helps him to expand his puppet show and become successful in the arts.
Mancuso not only stars in the film but co-wrote and directed it as well. As his feature film directorial debut, he does a very good job. He exposes the audience to the world around him but shows it from a different perspective. As demonstrated previously, the jackhammer breaking apart the street or the bus tires as they run over the rough and uneven streets all create a song in his head. One only he can hear but one which he visually attempts to show us.
Mendes is a breath of fresh air in comparison to the "Gringa" Haley as Mancuso's Mother, Maria (newcomer Maria Mancuso), likes to describe her. She has an authenticity to her that helps the audience connect to her character. Reale does a good job playing the rich, white girl who pretends to be sympathetic towards Rudy's ethnicity but who simply doesn't "get it". Mancuso's mother playing his mother was a smart but risky choice. She manages to pull it off though. Rudy is a star and director of his own story and is the master both in front of and behind the camera. It will be interesting to see if he could do as good a job as director with someone else's work.
Música not only allows the audience to view the world from someone else's eyes, but it also punctuates the idea that our surroundings and upbringing help us to meld into the person we ultimately become. The writing, directing, soundtrack, cast, etc. pull the viewer in from almost the beginning and hold their attention for the hour-and-a-half run time. With humor and heart, Mancuso adeptly brings the audience into his world and his mind and, not only leaves us wanting more but expands our horizons to attempt to get us to "think outside the box".
Grade: A
