[2] In August 2001, in the small town of Villa Alsina, Fermín Perlassi, his wife Lidia and his friend Antonio Fontana come up with a plan to reopen an agricultural cooperative which went bankrupt years before.
They learn the minimal investment to cover the initial costs reaches 300,000 dollars and bring the idea to the town's residents: mechanic Rolo Belaúnde, self-employed fix-it brothers Gómez, unemployed riparian Medina, and Carmen Lorgio, the town's shipping company's owner, who all agree and chip in.
Fermín complies and travels back to Alsina, but the financial crisis reaches its peak the next day as the President decides to freeze every U.S. dollar-denominated account in Argentina.
That night, the crew splits into two groups: Belaúnde and Medina are tasked with destroying the power generator that supplies the area while Fermín, Rodrigo and Hernán will break into the safe when the lights go off.
The next day, Fermín is consoling Carmen: Hernán ran away with nearly 2 million dollars in his car and haven't made contact since.
Fontana unzips his pants, rubs his mate's bombilla against his crotch, places it in the gourd and offers it to Manzi, who drinks it as his tire is swapped.
[16] Pablo Scholz of Clarín called the film a "great adaptation" of Sacheri's novel, and praised the cast as "impressively even and talented.
"[17] María Fernanda Mugica of La Nación wrote, "The script achieves an entertaining plot, interspersed with a reflection about human behavior and featuring characters with whom it is impossible not to empathize," and compared the plot and casting of familiar faces to Ocean's Eleven, although she noted the humor as the weakest aspect of the film.
[20] Variety's Scott Tobias wrote, "At close to a full two hours, 'Heroic Losers' takes too much time in the wind-up without the emotional payoffs Borensztein labors so hard to get."
"[19] Writing for Screen Daily, Sarah Ward said, "Heroic Losers isn’t heavy on surprises; not in its comfortable rhythms, warm-hued look at rural Argentine struggles, overt fist-pumping moments or reliable performances.
"[21] In a more critical review, Luciano Monteagudo of Página/12 considered the film "a new step-back for big-budget Argentine cinema that in recent years—with few exceptions—has taken refuge in the most tested and conservative formulas.