We’ve mentioned this before but Univision has an awesome-o site where you can stream old school movies in Spanish. There is one película on there, in particular, that deserves some very special attention. La risa en vacaciones is a hilarious Mexican prank movie from the early nineties. A bunch of actors, only identified as Pedro, Pablo, Paco, Gaby, and Ana pull elaborate pranks on gringo tourists and unsuspecting Mexis vacationing in Acapulco, Cancún, Mexico City, and Cabo San Lucas. It’s kinda like Candid Camera but way more perverted. And just like Jackass, they couldn’t make just one movie, or even two, there are SEVEN sequels. Yeah, siete! And thanks to Univision the first three are readily available por internet.
Even though you may be watching it via the internets, its grainy footage and old school graphics make you feel like you’re watching an old VHS tape you borrowed from your tio Chuy. And let’s talk about the clothes. The movies were all filmed in the nineties but the fashion is totally ochentas. Perms, big hair, acid-washed jeans, short shorts, Members Only jackets, and tiered ruffle dresses abound. Pure eighties awesomeness. But, it’s the ridiculous jokes that make this movie so great.
The very first prank sets the tone for the movie, preparing you for some muy chistoso and wonderfully perverted antics. A unsuspecting older guy is using the public bathroom at a park when a woman walks in and stands at the urinal next to him. She slowly lifts her white ruffled dress and starts to pee in the urinal (he doesn’t know that she has a tube filled with water under her dress). After a couple of double-takes, he slowly backs away from her and runs out of bathroom, completely horrified. And so goes the rest of the film.
There’s a woman who walks up to a random guy in the street, hands him a boom box, and then starts stripping only to demand money afterwards. There’s a gringo tourist who orders a drink at a hotel bar only for it to start sliding across the bar on its own. And there’s a Mexican guy who is trying to enjoy his breakfast when suddenly, the sunny-side up eggs he ordered start to move around on his plate. He calls over the waiter and just keeps repeating, “Se me están moviendo los huevos.” The waiter, looking very concerned, asks him if he has every had this problem before. It’s Mexican humor at its best: ridiculous, pervy, slap-stick, and sometimes totally over-the-top but always muy, pero muy, funny. Trust me on this one amigos, all of these movies are effing hilarious.
The Movie: La risa en vacaciones
Director: René Cardona Jr
Year: 1990
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Where You Can Watch It: Univision Películas, or on Univision’s Youtube Channel: Risa En Vacaciones 1, Risa En Vacaciones 2, and Risa En Vacaciones 3