The Mexican (2001)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A small-time criminal's quest to retrieve a cursed antique pistol leads to a series of dangerous encounters and an unexpected journey for his estranged girlfriend.
The story
Jerry Welbach, a small-time criminal working off a debt to a mob boss, is tasked with retrieving a legendary antique pistol known as 'the Mexican' from a man in Mexico. This final errand causes a rift with his girlfriend, Sam, who leaves him for Las Vegas. While Jerry navigates the dangers of Mexico to secure the gun, Sam becomes entangled in a series of unexpected events involving a hitman who has been hired to hold her hostage to ensure Jerry's delivery of the pistol.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Jerry Welbach is tasked by mob boss Arnold Margolese's second-in-command, Bernie Nayman, to retrieve an antique pistol called 'the Mexican' from a man named Beck in Mexico. After Beck is killed, Jerry recovers the gun but his car is stolen. Meanwhile, Jerry's girlfriend Sam moves to Las Vegas, where she is captured by a hitman named Leroy, who is actually a decoy hired to ensure Jerry delivers the gun. Sam eventually bonds with Leroy and a postal worker named Frank. In Mexico, Jerry faces police interference and a betrayal by his colleague Ted, who is ordered by Nayman to kill him. Jerry eventually discovers that the 'Leroy' holding Sam is an imposter named Winston Baldry. After a series of violent encounters, Jerry and Sam reunite in Mexico. They learn the pistol's tragic history: it was crafted for a daughter whose lover was killed by a nobleman's son, leading her to commit suicide with the gun. Jerry agrees to return the pistol to the gunsmith's family. In a final standoff, Sam kills Nayman with the pistol, and Jerry uses the gun to propose to her.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 123
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Gore Verbinski
- Writers
- J. H. Wyman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Julia Roberts; Brad Pitt; James Gandolfini · Leroy; Bob Balaban; J. K. Simmons; David Krumholtz; Gene Hackman
- Genres
- romantic crime comedy; LGBTQ-related; romantic comedy; adventure comedy
- Themes
- debt; loyalty; love; legacy
- Tone and mood
- romantic; crime; comedy; dark
- Premise and plot tags
- road movie; crime; romance; comedy
- Content notes
- LGBTQ-related
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the performances of James Gandolfini and Julia Roberts while others criticized its length and the lack of chemistry between the leads.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 54% · review count: 133; Metacritic · score: 43 · scale: 100 · review count: 35
- Awards and nominations
- GLAAD Media Award · Outstanding Film – Wide Release · win
- Production trivia
- The script was originally intended for an independent film without major stars.; Kevin Reynolds and David Fincher were both considered to direct the film.; Ben Stiller and Meg Ryan had also expressed interest in playing the lead roles.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…