Gringo (2018) * * *

Directed by:  Nash Edgerton

Starring: David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton, Amanda Seyfried, Thandie Newton, Harry Treadaway, Sharlto Copley

Poor Harold Soyinka.    His wife is having an affair, his boss Richard (Edgerton) is lying to him about selling the pharmaceutical company where he works and thus eliminating his job, and he finds himself evading would-be kidnappers during a business trip to Mexico.     Harold is a good guy who naively believes Richard is his friend and thinks good things should happen to good people.    In the world of Gringo, he learns this is not the case.

Richard and Elaine (Theron) run the pharma company which markets a marijuana pill and is ever close to merging with a larger company.    The partners and Harold travel to Mexico in order to inform its lab to no longer sell to a local drug cartel, which is easier in theory than practice for obvious reasons, in order to make the sale smoother.    Instead, it creates further problems, not the least of which for Harold, whom they ditch in Mexico.    Harold learns his worth not just to the company, but to his wife, which is practically zero.

A series of unfortunate events befalls Harold, some of which caused by Harold himself in a desperate attempt to swing some money for himself at the expense of Richard.    I won't delve much further into the things that eventually happen, mostly because it would spoil some of the fun, but also because I'm not entirely sure I can recall them all.     Various players come into focus, including the drug cartel leader who doesn't think Sgt. Pepper is the best Beatles album and Richard's mercenary brother who found religion, but may not let that get in the way of one last mission involving Harold for the right price.

Gringo works because we care for the unfortunate Harold (Oyelowo), who is too smart to be as naïve as he is.    We want him to figure things out before he winds up dead.   Oyelowo has made his mark in dramatic fare such as Selma and A United Kingdom, but in Gringo he shows his flair for comedy.  Yes, Gringo is a comedy.   How else would you describe the absurdities that unfold?    Edgerton and Theron are typical corporate cutthroats with little compassion for anyone but themselves.    The difference is how they display it.    Richard will slap you on the back and then stick the shiv in you, while Elaine is fearlessly offensive and up front.    Ice water may not be adequate enough to describe what must run through her veins.   The actors dig into the material and are clearly enjoying it, which helps to move things along.

The subplot involving the small-time drug dealer and his clueless girlfriend (Seyfried) is superfluous, as are the characters themselves, which tends to make Gringo a little longer than it needs to be, but the film, like the actors, walks that tightrope between fun absurdity and over-the-top silliness nicely.  At times, my own thoughts fluctuated between the two, but the fun won out.    And it was nice to see good things start to finally happen for Harold.