Undocumented Executive movie poster. Go With The Flow
 
Undocumented Executive
Stars: Tony Guerrero, Doris Morgado, Melissa Ponzio, Clayton Landey, Mark Oliver, Mike Whaley and Candace Mabry
Director/Scriptwriter: Brian Kosisky
Composer: Jonathan Castro
Cinematographer: Michael Fulcher
Kos Films
Rating: not rated but could be PG 13
Running Length: 105 minutes
 
Writer/director Brian Kosisky has put together a comedy with a budget of around $25,000. Yes, it can be done using existing  buildings (interior and exterior) and streets, plus the lighting is well done. This story concerns a gigantic mix-up---an illegal immigrant goes for an interview as a painter and ends up interviewing for a comptroller’s job in a large organization. Even the fact that he wears a suit (spills paint on his other clothes) is explained and every comment he makes is taken to mean something else. This just goes to show you that people really don't listen to what is being said to them, but what they would rather hear, instead. Tony Guerrero (playing Jaqi Gutierrez) reminds me of Jim Carrey’s humor, in that he never stops talking, which amounts to about 75% of the time in this film, and can be distracting.
 
Jaqi comes to the USA and his sister, Rosa (Doris Morgado, a Selma Hayek look-alike) picks him up and has a job interview for him. Seems as though he was in jail in Mexico and now is in Atlanta. Their banter revolves around her suspicions of everything and he trying to calm her. The interview comes and Jaqi is directed to another place because of his suit, and before you know it, he has the job. Doesn't matter that his English isn't the best, and that his “school” was jail, but, because of his accent, comes out as Yale, instead. The bosses, who steal their scenes and could have their own movie, are Clayton Landry (Ken) and Mark Oliver (Dennis), with schemes of their own and just looking for a fall guy. The hapless secretary is aptly played by Candace Mabry. The woman who should have gotten the comptroller’s job, Anita (Melissa Ponzio) is highly suspicious and starts her own investigation. Eventually, she and Jaqi become friends and try to figure out what is really going on in this company.
 
The movie has several scenario’s for humor, such as a golf course, restaurant, business meeting and this lets the actors do their thing, comedy-wise. The film begins to lag in the second half, when Jaqi gets serious about business (reading accounting books) and there are hints about “…getting rid of him/her…” An act of kindness to a woman selling tamales is out of place as there are no kind acts to strangers otherwise. Anita, business woman that she is, runs out of a restaurant without her purse. People are hit with ladders and other objects and just keep going. Stereotypes of people suspecting cleaning ladies of stealing or comments about the golf course caddy are done with wide comedic strokes.
 
Undocumented Executive is a clever premise. Where it shines is the supporting cast with their good timing and body language. The lead actor, Tony Guerrero, doesn't seem to know when to stop and take a breath. At times, he looks comfortable with the material, at other times, not. Filming on location adds authenticity.
  
2nhalf
 
Copyright 2012 Marie Asner
 
A complimentary copy of “Undocumented Executive” was provided by Kos Films.
 
[In real life, actor Tony Guerrero, after being illegally in the United States for over nine years, has been ordered to be deported in 2013. Reference: “For Illegal Immigrant Actor, Art Imitates Life Until The Ending,“ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 20, 2012, by Jeremy Redman].

{module Possibly Related Articles - Also search our Legacy Site}