'Rebelion de los Godinez': Gustavo Egelhaaf steals the show as Omar Buendia, a victim of office politics
Netflix just dropped its latest Spanish comedy movie, this time all the way from Mexico. The plot follows the corporate adventures of Omar Buendia (Gustavo Egelhaaf) who, much to his disinterest, ends up joining a tech company as an app developer. Throughout the next 90 minutes of the movie, we see an ensemble of many characters, each playing their part and significant enough for the story, but Egelhaaf remains the real star of the show.
Before we jump into Egelhaaf's performance, here’s a little overview of Omar. He's your average Joe, a classic millennial who is talented and ambitious but comes with the classic middle-class values and traits. But he doesn’t want to remain that way. He wants to be an entrepreneur, start his own tech company and, someday, compete with Apple, or so he says.
However, his grandpa, the only family member he has, is tired of his grandson flitting around wasting his potential. A sudden heart attack reaffirms his thought and scares Omar into joining the age-old race of a 9 to 5 job. But Omar is no ordinary employee. He is witty and smart and, despite his initial inhibition, he stands up for himself where his colleagues tend to succumb to their oppressive and demeaning bosses.
From the scary young fresher to someone who can outwit the company executives, Omar's character undergoes a significant change and we have Gustavo Egelhaaf to thank for it. Whether it is his initial attitude of the starry-eyed aspirant or the suppressed employee who fears to make mistakes, Egelhaaf is convincing in his portrayal of a victim of office politics.
His charming persona coupled with his easy acting steals all the attention, even in the emotional scene when he is betrayed by his love interest Maribel Gandia (Anna Carreiro) and later breaking down in front of his sick grandfather in the hospital. And let's not forget the transition of his role from the intimidated newbie to delivering his quick and witty comebacks to Roberto Davich (Mauricio Arguelles).
Expressive and right on point of his character sketch, Gustavo Egelhaaf nails his role. While it would be wrong to say that there are other characters also well enacted by the rest of the cast, Egelhaaf does not let you take your eyes off him. 'Rebelion de los Godinez' is currently streaming on Netflix.
