(2006, US, 110 min) Dir Jay White. Cast Seann William Scott, Diego Luna, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Humberto Busto.
Bored programmer Joe (Scott) works for internet company Doodle, the kind of benign behemoth that fills its floors with foosball tables and vintage arcade games – exactly the kind of environment where Joe could get away with doing nothing all day if his bosses didn’t require work from him. Unfortunately for them Joe secretly knows nothing about programming but hits on an idea – for a fraction of his own huge wage he hires a programmer in Mexico called Juan (Luna) to do his work for him so he can lounge around all day and not get fired. His bosses, seeing how much he’s doing while still committing to the social aspects of the company give him a significant pay rise. The email confirming this is seen by Juan, who has access to Joe’s email, and when he sees how much he’s getting screwed by Joe he enlists his criminal brother Sebastian (Busto) to get revenge. Soon every aspect of Joe’s life is under Juan’s control and he has to go offline and get to Mexico to sort it all out. Hijinks follow with Joe ending the film having been drugged with peyote, blown up and, of course, finding a newfound respect for his Mexican neighbours and love with Moreno’s Claudia. Pretty good fun, gamely played by the cast and it doesn’t push the message button too much despite obviously being a parable for society and inequality and stuff.
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