Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A waiter pretends to be an important businessman in order to reach the upper class through his entrepreneurial dreams.
El mesero is a charming Mexican comedy about class mobility and social pretense, built on a fairly familiar premise of a working-class man faking his way into elite circles. The acting and character work carry the film well enough to justify its strong local reception, but the cinematography is functional rather than distinctive, and the premise follows well-worn comedic tropes about social climbing. The ending delivers satisfying resolution appropriate to the genre without subverting expectations. It's a crowd-pleasing, warmly performed comedy that doesn't break new ground but executes its modest ambitions competently.