El príncipe gondolero: A dusty trip to Venice

Is it worth your time?

If you like old movies where everyone is constantly bursting into song or looking vaguely confused in the best way possible, sure. It’s light. It’s fluffy. It’s barely there. If you need a movie that respects your intelligence or has a plot that holds together for more than ten minutes, you will probably hate this.

There is this moment about halfway through where the main character, played by Roberto Rey, looks at the camera with such earnestness that you just have to laugh. It’s not a bad performance, but it’s definitely from a different planet.

The whole thing feels like it was filmed in someone’s backyard in Venice, or at least a very convincing set. Honestly, the water looks a bit like painted cardboard in some shots. I caught myself staring at a blurry backdrop for way too long. Why was that wall moving? Did a stagehand bump into it? 🛶

The vibe

It’s not trying to be The Lady or anything heavy like that. It just wants to exist and be pleasant. Sometimes that’s enough. But man, the pacing is all over the place.

The supporting cast, especially Chevo Pirrín, seems to be having a much better time than the leads. They’re just popping in to deliver a line and then vanishing. It’s almost like they were filming two different movies at the same time and occasionally bumped into each other.

• That one song about the moon? Lasts an eternity.
• The gondola physics are completely fake, but who cares?
• The editing feels like someone just chopped scenes together with kitchen scissors.

It’s not as sharp as The Charleston, but it has this weird, sleepy energy that grows on you. I think I fell asleep for a minute during a musical number and honestly, I didn't miss a thing. 😴

Don’t go looking for deep meaning here. It’s a relic. A dusty, musical, slightly broken relic. Sometimes it’s nice to just watch people pretend to be princes on a boat. Even if the boat isn't really moving.