Review of The Mambo Kings (1992) by Kamyar M — 10 Jun 2007
Flawed movie from a novel that, though also quite flawed, deserved a hell of a lot better than this. Tries to be too many different things and doesn't really succeed at any of them, plus it's really impossible to compress the scope of the novel into a standard-length film.
The novel had a kind of great story that, presented here, comes off as terribly trite and tired, like a million cliches we've seen before. Armand Assante gives a really solid performance as Cesar, however, and there are three great scenes: Cesar jamming with Tito Puente during a shootout; the Castillo brothers seamlessly edited into an episode of 'I Love Lucy' (with Desi Arnaz Jr.
playing his father); and a killer sequence of the Mambo Kings playing "Sunny Ray" in a packed club that for a moment captures the feeling of the novel. If nothing else, though, the movie gave us "Beautiful Maria of My Soul," one of the most gorgeous songs ever.
Skip the film, download the song.
This review of The Mambo Kings (1992) was written by Kamyar M on 10 Jun 2007.
The Mambo Kings has generally received positive reviews.
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