Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Since Hollywood movies are popular worldwide, many actors from other countries have to learn English and make movies in English if they want to become internationally famous. It’s much, much rarer to see an American movie star make a film in a language other than English. But that’s just what comedian Will Ferrell decided to do. Why not? It seems everything he does is funny, no matter what the language is. Maybe laughter is the true universal language.
Casa de mi Padre is Ferrell’s all-Spanish comedy. He plays the son of a cowboy who wants to gain his father’s approval, save the family ranch, and get the girl of his dreams. Whether or not he succeeds isn’t really as important as how goofy he looks speaking bad Spanish in this unusual, slapstick comedy. Hear Jason and Amy talk about Casa de mi Padre and the humor of trying to speak a new language.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
![]() Amy |
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Amy: Will Ferrell did a movie entirely in Spanish. What’s that all about?
Jason: It’s fantastic!
Amy: Is it?
Jason: Yeah. I mean, Will Ferrell is pretty funny no matter what he does.
Amy: God, just his face is funny.
Jason: Yeah. But so, of course Will Ferrell badly speaking another language is hilarious.
Amy: Yeah. Is it funny for an hour and a half though, or however long the movie is?
Jason: Yeah, absolutely. It is like 84 minutes, so I think they knew they had to get in and get out of there. I think that it’s a great movie for anyone who’s a fan of Will Ferrell or anyone who speaks a little Spanish, ‘cause a lot of the jokes involve him saying things you would’ve learned in a classroom. It really highlights his weak Spanish skills.
Amy: Right.
Jason: And it explains it in the movie. His character’s supposed to be a native speaker, but he’s just supposed to be really dumb. But there’s also gags if you don’t speak any Spanish at all. A lot of the props are really terrible, and it’s purposefully bad.
Amy: Uh-huh.
Jason: Yeah, I think it’s a really cool idea to make a movie that makes fun of the language learning process in a way.
Amy: And anyone who’s learned a language themselves has had those moments of just feeling like you’re sounding ridiculous and making a fool of yourself, but you have to kind of be able to laugh about it, I think.
Jason: Totally. And so many actors have to learn English and do a movie in English, that it’s kind of cool for an American actor to do that.
Amy: Definitely.
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Discussion
Amy asks Jason about Will Ferrell’s new movie Casa de mi Padre. Jason really liked it. He thinks Will Ferrell speaking bad Spanish is hilarious. But Amy wonders how long that same joke could be amusing. Jason agrees that it’s a good thing the movie is short. Jason and Amy also agree that the process of trying to learn another language can have a lot of funny moments.
Jason is impressed that Ferrell decided to make a movie entirely in Spanish. He points out that a lot of actors from different countries have to learn English and make movies in English. So he appreciates the fact that Will Ferrell, a native English speaker, decided to make a film in a language he isn’t comfortable in.
Have you ever had any funny experiences while learning English? Are you surprised that an American actor decided to make a movie in another language?
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