This was another biopic that falls into most of the usual traps. It's more concerned with hitting all the big moments of its subject's life, and rarely lets us truly get inside their head. "Cantinflas" further highlights this problem by featuring a separate storyline that is actually more interesting than what the bulk of the film has to offer.
Most of the film concerns itself with the career rise of Mario Moreno (professionally billed as Cantinflas) as he goes from working in tent shows, to becoming a comedian who plays to large theatrical houses, to becoming the biggest star in the Mexican film industry. Intercut with this is a storyline where producer Michael Todd, preparing to make the film "Around the World in 80 Days" seeks to put together an all star cast filled with cameos from international celebrities. His list includes Cantinflas, which is how the storylines eventually intersect.
While Cantinflas' storyline takes place over years, Todd's lasts about a week. This makes Todd's story infinitely more involving and relatable. Each time we cut back to Cantinflas, something has changed. Often, he's moved onto the next rung of his career ladder. Eventually his marriage is in trouble, hampered by his occupational obligations. The problem is that we rarely see the progression in any of this. There is no slow onset of marital stress. We just return to his storyline and the focus is suddenly on the state of his marriage. You can almost feel the screenwriter checking off each "life event" he feels obligated to include in the film, using the interludes provided by the Michael Todd sequences as an excuse to jump right to the next event when returning to Cantinflas' storyline. Each time we return to Todd's story, however, he is in the same state we left him in, trying desperately to put together the cast for his movie. This gives his storyline a strong sense of continuity, and its easy to get behind this character as he is consistently attempting to accomplish a clear, singular goal. Are his sequences brilliant? By no means. But they do tell a clear story while calling attention to the fact that the rest of the film does not.
In general, I'm just not a big fan of the biopic genre, as they're very hard to do well. When a film actually manages to pull it off, it can be a fantastic achievement. "Cantinflas", while sometimes entertaining, doesn't pull it off.
C+
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