Labios Rojos (Red Lips, 2009) **

I haven’t seen any of the Tyler Perry movies, but there are a couple of them called “Why Did I Get Married?” and “I Think I Love My Wife,” and from the trailers I have seen, these seem to be formulaic little morality plays about a guy who maybe used to be a real ladies’ man, now trying to navigate the world of monogamy and family. Some new hottie shows up to tempt the guy, and he goes through a light existential crisis before deciding to be faithful to his wife. With these movies, Perry keeps the humor broad, and the acting is no better than it needs to be to present jokes that you can see coming a mile away. I think that “Labios Rojos” is the Mexican version of one of these movies. Jorge Salinas plays Ricardo, a handsome guy turning 40 who is starting to feel the weight of the years and his hectic life. A new job offers new opportunities but an unexpected level of stress. With the increased work hours and worry he finds one night that he can’t get it up for his wife, and instead of just talking to her about how he is feeling really stressed out as well as feeling old, he lets things fester so that their relationship starts falling apart. Meanwhile, a ridiculously sexy new co-worker provides a distraction , and blah blah blah. Like I said, you know how the story goes, and the jokes are broadcast so far in advance that they cease to be funny by the time the punch line hits. “Labios Rojos” has two things going for it. One is gorgeous actresses who display some brief nudity. The other is surprisingly good enunciation of the lines, which was key for me, because my motivation for making this seemingly random movie selection was to help me with my Spanish. I understood the language in this one better than just about any film I’ve seen, so for that reason I would recommend it to anyone who is trying to learn Spanish. One star for the lame story, and one bonus star for the Spanish-lab value. 2 stars out of 5