There are so many movies that try to capture high school life and fail.  It has nothing to do with the quality of the movie; it has everything to do with the actors.  I don’t care if the movie is phenomenal, if the cast is full of actors in their mid to late twenties who could maybe pass for 18, it doesn’t look like high school.  The story may be touching, the acting superb, but I still don’t buy it as being high school.  However, once in a while a movie comes around that sets out to portray high school life and succeeds by casting actors who actually look like they are in high school.  One of these is Casi Casi.

Casi Casi is the story of Emilio, a typical high school nobody who has a huge crush on Jacklynne, the most popular girl in school.  With his friends’ support, Emilio decides to run for Student Body President in order to get noticed by Jacklynne and hopefully win her heart.  However, Jacklynne also decides to run for Student Body President, and therein squats the toad.  Emilio now faces a dilemma: if he wins, Jacklynne, will hate him; if he loses, she will think he’s a loser.  He and his friends come up with a plan to impress Jacklynne with the most romantic gesture they can think of.  Now they’ll just have to figure out how to accomplish it without getting caught by their nemesis, Principal Richardson. 

Aside from being fun and filled with heart, Casi Casi succeeds where some other movies fail because its cast members actually pass for high school students, meaning they both look and behave like teenagers.  Their antics are over the top, but it’s the kind of fun I wish I had in high school.  Running around, eluding the principal, and scheming would have made those four years much more exciting. 

Special Features

The movie is in Spanish, but English subtitles are available.

Directors’ Commentaries with writer/directors Jaime and Tony Vallés.

Making-of Featurette which takes the movie from conception to post-production.

Final Words

Casi Casi is not only believable as a high school comedy, it is also heartwarming, fun-filled, and all around enjoyable.  An excellent first film for Jaime and Tony Vallés, and a definite winner in my book, Casi Casi is a must-see for everyone.