“I call it a mistake”: the 2001 movie crushed under the weight of Brad Pitt’s “baggage”

Brad Pitt has said that *The Mexican*, his 2001 crime comedy with Julia Roberts, became too burdened by the fame of its stars to remain the small, offbeat film its makers had intended. The casting raised expectations and costs, while critics gave the finished film mixed reviews.

Pitt described the attempt to keep the project small as “our mistake”, while clarifying that he did not consider the film itself a mistake. It reportedly made about $100 million in profit, and James Gandolfini’s performance was praised. Pitt and Roberts later appeared together in *Ocean’s Eleven* and *Confessions of a Dangerous Mind*; they are now preparing to return to the *Ocean’s* franchise for *Ocean’s 14*.