As Luck Would Have It

If one is looking for a scapegoat, it's not hard to see where Álex de la Iglesia's inconsistent satire, As Luck Would Have It, went wrong. The film features the sharp direction and solid acting typical of Iglesias's work, but the script is not up to his usual absurd, darkly funny standard. Roberto (José Mota) is an unemployed advertising exec with an adoring wife, Luisa (Salma Hayek). After spending the day being humiliated by a former employer he begs for a job, enduring one embarrassing mishap after another, he ends up having an accident at a historical excavation, leaving him impaled on a metal rod, with his life in danger and the media swarming. Rather than despair, Roberto sees an opportunity to exploit his dilemma to provide for his family, even if it costs him his life. If the tale feels a bit Hollywood, that's probably because Iglesias is adapting an unproduced script by Randy Feldman, best known as the screenwriter of Tango & Cash. That could explain the black-and-white morality and sentimentality at play here, which are unusual for the filmmaker. In fact, Luisa is such an unimpeachably virtuous character that we actually lose sympathy for Roberto, and his desperate, whiny obsession with his financial troubles. The film is engaging enough, but it lacks the ruthless wit of the director's earlier work.