Original Title: Desenfrenadas
English Title: Unstoppable
Year: 2020
Country: Mexico
Language: Spanish
Rating: 5/7 Samurai
Three upper-middle-class women in their mid-twenties decide to go on a spur of the moment road trip, and somehow everything that could go wrong does go wrong, but in the end, they all learn something about themselves and the world, that’s the basis of the new Netflix series out of Mexico, Unstoppable. The self discovery roadtrip is a story that’s been told many times before, Thelma & Louise was at the forefront of the genre, and then Britney Spears ruined it with Crossroads. Unstoppable lands somewhere in between, but thankfully a little closer to to the former.
The show centers on four women, Rocio, Vera, and Carlota, who have all been friends since high school, and who are all going through some version of a mid-twenties crisis, and Marcela, a woman of a similar age but a very different social class, who kidnaps the other three at gunpoint. Marcela isn’t really so much bad as desperate though and is easily and bonds with the other three, the four set out on adventures through the Mexican countryside.
The four women endure a lot, being chased by the cops, losing all their money, and an evil stepmother, it strains their friendship but they always come back together and keep going. It’s not all bad either, there’s, of course, a good helping of romance and mushroom fueled beach party that is lots of fun to watch. The fun is key here because whether the four women are going through one of their many ordeals or just getting drunk together, the show is written well enough to keep it compelling and enjoyable to way.
The other part of Unstoppable that makes very watchable is the setting, the country and the people of Mexico are a welcome discovery. As an American, my concept of Mexico is unfortunately colored by the issue of immigration that dominates our news, and everything that goes along with that. It was enlightening to see a story from there that was completely divorced from anything to do with that. The show starts in Mexico City and travels to the state of Oaxaca, we get to see rural towns and villages along with the beautiful coastline, along with all of the different people who live there. I don’t know if this was done on purpose by the people that made the show, but I’m so glad they did.
It should be obvious with the Thelma & Louise comparison that Unstoppable tries to tell a story rooted in feminism, but it goes beyond that with aspects that cover social class, race, family, and a lot of the other issues that the world is dealing with. The problem is that it doesn’t feel like its saying anything too radical or groundbreaking about any of these issues so it can feel heavy handed and unnecessary at times. This is a Mexican show though, not American, so from that perspective, maybe the heavy handedness is needed, I don’t know. Even if it is a little overdone, it’s good to see a show like this being made, especially one that’s so enjoyable.
Where to watch: Unstoppable is available on Netflix
Subs & Dubs: You can watch the show with subtitles or dubbed into English.
Other Than English 