Ana (America Ferrera) has just
graduated from Beverly Hills High School. An unlimited future
should be right in front of her with colleges begging her to
come to their institutions. At least, that is what Ana’s English
teacher Mr. Guzman (George Lopez) thinks. If only he could get
her family to agree with him.
It’s her
mother (Lupe Ontiveros), mostly, that doesn’t quite understand
Ana’s stubborn obsession with education. She had to work and
strive and build for her family her entire life, since she was
younger than her daughter, so she doesn’t see any reason why it
isn’t Ana’s turn to do the same now.
What we have here, then, is the
age-old battle of wills between mother and daughter. One
headstrong and defiant; the other stern, irrational and loving;
neither willing to bend or break. It’s not a very new or
different story to tell, but Real Women Have Curves goes
well beyond its rote plot lines and is solidly one of the year’s
best films.
Set in the world of East Los
Angeles’ largely Hispanic community, the movie has a vibrant
electricity and life to it that helps it explode out of the
usual “coming-of-age” box. The troubles Ana is facing are steep
indeed. Her sister Estela’s (Ingrid Oliu) dress shop is
floundering, her mother’s health is slowly deteriorating and her
beloved grandfather (Felipe de Alba) may not have much time
left. It’s enough by itself to make the tortured Ana stay in
L.A. and forgo school for the time being. Her mother’s constant
badgering could very well put it over the top.
A hit at
the Sundance Film Festival, Real Women Have Curves is a
pure delight. Everything about the film clicks wonderfully, from
Ferrera (in her film debut) and Ontiveros’ pitch-perfect
performances, to Patricia Cardaso’s sure-handed direction, to
George LaVoo and Josefina Lopez’s deft reworking of Patricia
Cardaso’s acclaimed play. If the ground covered is overly
familiar; we’ve seen mother/daughter struggle stories before;
the filmmakers still manage to make it all feel fresh and alive
in new and vigorous ways.
If there is
any justice, this juicy and entertaining slice of life will get
seen again and again by the same throngs that made the woefully
under whelming My Big Fat Greek Wedding the monster hit
of the year. That film never escaped being more than just a
boiled-over sitcom, facetious and insulting to more than just
one’s intelligence.
Real
Women trumps that
easily. It is pleasantly familiar yet always smart endearing.
You can’t help but become absorbed by this family and young
Ana’s situation, pulling for her to make the right decision but
understanding her renitency to really make a go of her dreams.
It’s tough to grow up and make the decision to leave home as it
is, but with a mother trying to throw familial responsibility in
your face it can border on the impossible.
I don’t
want to make it sound like Real Women Have Curves is a
down and dour experience - far from it. There is more joy in two
frames of Cardaso’s film than most mainstream comedies can
muster in 90 minutes. It is a rousing, cathartic movie, sure to
illicit cheers even from the most hard-hearted critic. It won me
over, and as much hell as this year’s worth of films has put me
through, that’s saying something right there.
