Scene 1: A guy who may be Andres Delgado rushes through hotel kitchens, looking for someone who is Mexican. He finds someone, asks for a Tamarind Fresquito, a Mexican soft drink, and brings it back to boxing manager Andy, who yells at him. It's tamarind flavor, but the wrong brand.
They bring it to Boxer Esteban anyway. He becomes irate and attacks, but his ex-wife saves the day by bringing in one, of the proper brand, that his son had with him. This guy is crazy entitled.
Esteban and his crew strut into the arena. The audience cheers for La Maquina. And we cut to the ambulance. "Did we win?" Esteban asks. Manager Andy: "What do you think, asshole?" This must be a comedy
Scene 2: Mexico City, two months later. Esteban in a bathrobe walks through his mansion, brings juice to someone off-camera. Cut to Manager Andy primping in front of the mirror, using botox, pretending to be a ninja, and then going to the office to reveal his new ad campaign: "To rise up from defeat into triumph," as has happened many times in Mexico's history. Esteban is going to be big, like the Dalai Lama or Gandhi. "Put him on a billboard, and you'll see."
The suits are not impressed. "My balls would do better." The brands want to settle his contract and stop their sponsorship.
Scene 3: Esteban finishes his practice and is taking a shower -- his back only -- when he hears voices: "Kick his ass!" But there's no one around.
Cut to the doctor, who says that his heart is healthy. He gets some beta-blockers for his anxiety, notes that he's sober, but he's stopped going to AA meetings because he keeps getting mobbed by fans.
What about depression? "I was knocked out in the first round in front of a million people. What do you think?"
What about memory loss or hallucinations? Nope. Hey, you're lying. You were hearing things in the shower.
Scene 4: Andy enters his mansion and kisses his wife or mother -- she looks about 20 years older, but they kiss on the mouth. Things went badly at the meeting, even though he wore his Dalai Lama necklace.
In to the living room, where his mom is getting a massage -- ok, so the old lady is his wife. I guess 20 years is not an impossible age gap.
More after the break
Scene 5: Manager Andy drives through town, asking his manager to get a plane ticket to see Joao.
Cut to a Joao, a middle-aged Brazilian guy eating by himself in an airport restaurant. Manager Andy pretends that he has just run into him, and asks for a rematch. He doesn't want one. Andy blackmails him with a story of 'a new one we haven't seen before" -- I don't know what that means -- and gets the rematch in 12 weeks.
Scene 6: Esteban is hanging out in his trophy room when Manager Andy comes in. They call each other Andronico. I don't know why. He was a first-century bishop.
Manager Andy announces the rematch,with a purse of 8 million, but lies to him, saying it's in 8 weeks. Esteban scoffs. That's impossible. "Just kidding -- 12 weeks." Why do that?
Next they discuss having dinner. "Does your ex still bring you food? That's why you don't get laid. Just looking at your refrigerator killed my b*ner." So Manager Andy gets aroused by Esteban?
Scene 7: Paparazzi swarm Esteban as sports shows announce the rematch. They scoff. He'll never reach the weight: he looks like a badly wrapped torta. Montage of Esteban training, getting criticized, getting weighed, training.
Scene 8: Manager Andy talks to the Boxing Commissioner, who also thinks that he'll fail to make the weight, or die in the ring.
He sends his assistant with a bribe to make sure Esteban makes the weight. The guy won't take it, but Esteban passes anyway.
Scene 9: The pre-match interview, with the opponents and their managers insulting each other. They get into a fight and try to hit each other with chairs, which works to their benefit: tickets sell out in two hours.
Afterwards, at a party, Esteban pushes through the crowd of fans and paparazzi and sits by himself, being morose. His ex-wife drops by to tell him that she's moving with their son to Argentina.
In the bathroom to take some pills, he sees the lights flicker, and he hears: "Run! Hands up! Two for each! Kick his ass!" Is this a memory of a past trauma, or is he hearing random threats?
Scene 10: Next stop, the San Luis Club, where everybody wants to hug him. He complains to Manager Andy, "You stood me up!" So they're dating?
Andy gets a mysterious phone call: "We're the ones that fixed the weigh-in. We'll be in touch."
Scene 11: The Assistant and Manager Andy look through the sex rooms to find Esteban complaining about losing his son, not having sex. They carry him to Andy's house while he says nonsequiters like "They won't cut them off -- they inject you."
Cut to Andy sitting in the bathroom while Esteban sloshes around in the bathtub. He'll be in no condition to fight tomorrow; they'll have to cancel: "You're so fucking selfish!"
Scene 12: They don't cancel. Assistant brings a tub full of Tamarind Fresquitas while Manager Andy looks grim and Trainer Sixto gives him something through intravenous. He tells about his father bringing him to his first fight and telling him: "This isn't a fight, it's a little play." Hey, that's the episode title. "What we do here is theater."
He continues that opponent Protasio plays offense. He doesn't like to take punches, he just gives them. "I'll bet he's never satisfied a woman." Why are you so darned sure that the guy is heterosexual, homophobe? So Esteban needs to be patient, take some punches, then turn aggressive.
Scene 13: The packed stadium for the main event. This time we see the match: Protasio is clearly beating Esteban. The Trainer gave him bad strategic advice. Protasio's manager: "Honey, wait up, I'll be home for dinner."
Second round: Esteban gets a good punch in.
Third round: Esteban lands a punch like a "donkey's kick" and knocks out Protasio.
Later, Esteban and Manager Andy sing at a bar, pushing their butts and foreheads together. Before it gets too homoerotic, they're joined by the ex-wife. Is this actually happening in-universe, or is it a set piece, like those dances in Bollywood movies?
Andy gets an email: Esteban has been invited to the World Boxing Championship against British boxer Handsome Harry Felix, played by fitness trainer Chris Evangelou.
Then a card with a mysterious phone number written on it. When he calls, a text message appears: "It's time to pay. Esteban has to lose." The end.
Beefcake: Some of Esteban, some boxers.
Gay Characters: Esteban and Andy have a gay-subtext buddy-bond that almost veers into text. I imagine that they're playing their characters as bisexual.
Heterosexism: Not much. No one is shown having sex.
Paranormal: Not much. Some hallucinations. the mysterious Otras Personas seem to be just a shadow organization.
The Guys: I should check the cast list before watching. Esteban is Gael Garcia Bernal, and Manager Andy is Diego Luna! They caused a sensation in Y tu mamá también, 2000, as two best friends who have sex with lots of women, and one night with each other. No, they don't come out as bisexual. In the morning, they're horrified -- one throws up in disgust -- and they end the friendship. Seems rather homophobic today, but at the time it was lauded as a breakthrough film.
The point is, they're the same age. So why does Manager Andy look at least 10 years younger than Esteban, and 20 years younger than his wife?
See also: Kelton's Cute/Cool Photos, Part 1: Chanting, wrestling, boxing, going blond, growing a beard
Sylvester Stallone: N*de photos of Rocky, Rambo, Estelle Getty's son, and the Italian Stallion
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