Synopsis

Rudy's (Rudy Mancuso) life is somewhat of a mess and his girlfriend Haley (Francesca Reale) is tired of him zoning out on her. Rudy's Brazilian mother Maria (Maria Mancuso) doesn't like the white girl anyway, and so when she hears that Haley has broken up with Rudy, she thinks it's the perfect opportunity to introduce him to women of his own heritage, the beautiful Brazilians. Rudy hears music in everything; it's almost like a form of therapy for him, and his escape from the real world. When he walks down the subway steps, it's a piano. When he sits in a diner with his girlfriend, he can't help but be distracted by the music of cooking and serving. This is exactly why Haley doesn't feel like he cares for her at all. Additionally, he's always dividing his attention between her and his mother, so she feels unseen.Rudy is in his last year of school, and his only interests are puppets and music, something Haley doesn't understand. She wants him to become more serious in life and get a real job when they live together at university (which happens in 6 weeks). Rudy spends most of his time working on these "hobbies" and works late into the morning down in the subway for some petty cash, which doesn't really help his cause. Haley and Rudy have been together for 4 years. Rudy does puppet shows in the subway and is working on his music thesis. But Haley doesn't believe that Rudy has made enough progress.Plus, he lives at home with his mother. But at least that means he always has a lot of food on his plate. Being broken up makes Rudy realize he should take things a bit seriously. He tries to study hard, but it doesn't really work. Maria sets Rudy up with a nice Brazilian girl named Luana (Camila Senna), which is really embarrassing for him. Luana is really aggressive in her approach, but Rudy pushes her back. This prompts Luana to walk away, telling Maria that Rudy needs help. His mother sends him to buy fish one day, and there, like the feeling of spring after a cold winter, he sees Isabella (Camila Mendes), a Brazilian. Isabella woks at the fish market and gaping at her Rudy is hit in the face with a fish.Rudy returns to the store later and walks Isabella to a market fair that she was planning on visiting. Isabella is very different from Haley. She's actually interested in seeing the world through Rudy's eyes. Rudy shows how he can turn everyday regular sounds into a rhythm. Isabella suggests Rudy take his show "up" and actually work on it. In the meantime, at school, Haley notices him trying to ask questions in class (it's only because it's about music). Haley tells Rudy that she wants to give another shot to their relationship.Now Rudy is stuck between his ex of four years, who wants to make things work out, and a fresh perspective, who is more understanding of him because of their matching backgrounds. Isabella tells him how her mother abandoned her when she was 15, and she went back to Brazil for a man. Rudy spends a lot of time chit-chatting with his puppet about Isabella.Anwar (J.B. Smoove) is Rudy's friend and runs a fast-food truck. Rudy confides in Anwar that at this point he finds both Isabella and Haley equally alluring. Anwar asks him to pursue both, while his puppet advises strongly against it.One night, when he's trying to take Isabella out on a date using his friend's truck, he ends up getting shot in the arm. It's only grazing, but this gets Isabella and Rudy closer. They share a kiss and admit that they both feel connected to each other. She covers Rudy's ears when he goes to his faraway place and calms him down.Still, somehow, Rudy ends up two-timing the two girls "by accident". While things are going wonderfully with Isabella, he ends up going to Haley's house for a meal, which goes terribly. Her parents (Bruce (Gregory Jones) and Claire (Regina Schneider)) are racist and don't see how he's right for their daughter. Rudy asks to meet Haley at a Brazilian restaurant in his part of town to break up with her. Isabella happens to be in the same restaurant getting takeout. Somehow, this doesn't knock some sense into Rudy, and he ends up trying to divide his time between the two girls. In the end, his mother shows up, and the three women surround him in the middle of the restaurant. Rudy, who explodes finally, revealing to Haley that he invited her there to break up with her because he found "another woman." Unfortunately, Isabella doesn't care if she's the chosen one; she leaves the restaurant.After a drunken night makes Rudy hallucinate that his life is a routine mess, his mother tries to knock some sense into Rudy. She asks him what he wants in life, and he lists a few things. One is to be happy; the other is to spend time with his mother, his puppets and music, and ultimately Isabella. She's kind of his savior, or that's what the dream made it seem like. Rudy writes a song for Isabella to apologize, but she asks him to speak to her like a real adult. She tells him that he's trying hard to keep something together that he doesn't even know if he really wants. His apology doesn't work because Isabella has always been left with her feelings ignored.It's time for Rudy to submit his thesis, but instead, he turns it into a script titled "Musica," inspired by his own life. Finally, Rudy takes his show above ground and presents a comedy show with his puppets recreating scenes from his life with music and laughter. Ultimately, after his show is a success, he receives takeout with a smiley face on the cover. This is the same smiley face Isabella drew for him after he got smacked by a piece of fish in the face.

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Apr 4, 2024 at 11:06 AM