Short circuits

Updated: July 16, 2012 - 6:38 PM

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Will Ferrell portrays Armando Alvarez in "Casa De Mi Padre."

Photo: John Estes, Lionsgate

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short circuits

New and noteworthy experiences among home video, games, gadgets and the Web.

VIDEO

Ferrell speaks Spanish

What's the big idea with "Casa de Mi Padre"? Is the joke that Will Ferrell -- playing a Mexican version of his signature, slightly dense Everyman -- speaks nothing but Spanish throughout the film? Or is it that the movie is a parody of how cheesy a cheaply made, south-of-the-border western can get?

Those are the two hardest-working gags in the film, a deliberately inept spoof of accidentally inept filmmaking. It's perfect for a short clip on the Funny or Die website. Padded out to feature length, with a bunch of other slight and forgettable laughs, it wears thin. Extras on the DVD and Blu-ray (Lions Gate, $20-$25) include commentary by Ferrell, director Matt Piedmont and writer-producer Andrew Steele, and deleted scenes.

WASHINGTON POST

Also out Tuesday:

Movies: "Friends With Kids," "Get the Gringo," "Intruders," "Lockout," "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," "The Three Stooges."

TV: "Alphas" (Season 1), "Bonanza" (Season 3), "Designing Women" (final season), "Diff'rent Strokes" (Season 3), "Eureka" (Season 5), "The Inbetweeners" (full series), "Leverage" (Season 4), "Sanctuary" (Season 4).

Blu-ray debuts: "The Butterfly Effect," "Down by Law," "Hard to Kill," "High Noon," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956), "Mean Streets," "A Perfect Murder," "Singin' in the Rain."

GAME

A musical quest

"Final Fantasy" has made its imprint in gaming, motion pictures and even concerts where major orchestras belt out the games' beautiful soundtracks for packed audiences. I was unprepared for the next tendril of this franchise's legacy, the music-rhythm game "Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy" ($40 for Nintendo 3DS; rated Everyone).

One would think the natural home for this action is the Kinect or PlayStation Move, but, instead, Square Enix crammed a playful yet challenging cavalcade of tappable circles and music into the 3DS experience. The diversion from the typical role-playing genre jars the senses, seeing heroes battle enemies not with sword swipes but with the power of music.

This game masks itself in a cloak of "Final Fantasy" goodness, but if you revile music-and-rhythm games, then you'll want to avoid this wolf in sheep's clothing.

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