Review of Y Tu Mamá También (2001) by Jeff B — 25 Aug 2014

Sexually charged and sexily charging from funny pillow talk into a serious think piece, the promiscuous, provocative, and pulse-pounding Y Tu Mama Tambien proves WAY more than just your average sex romp. With the players perpetually in and out of every possible state of undress, you wouldn't expect there to be a message sprawling out between the sheets...but you'd be dead wrong. Sure, there's a narrator bullet pointing the characters' taciturn lives and loves, but it's your own reflective inner voice that truly provides the throughline here, instigated and aroused by titillating bed hopping that points up our own inhibitions and desires.

In this subtitled, Spanish, R-rated drama, two Mexican teenage boys (Bernal, Luna) and an attractive older woman (Maribel Verdu) embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.

Of course, none of this would ever play out to such an engaging degree without a very brave and electric cast. Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Maribel Verdu rightly went onto careers beyond this very memorable film (The Bourne Ultimatum, Milk, and Pans Labyrinth, respectively). Here, they exposed everything to filmgoers in performances that are more than pure exhibitionismtheyre raw nerves, emotional and stinging. It's easy to see why director Alfonso Cuaron went on to fare so well with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Whether his characters are dealing with threesomes or wizardry, he handles the ignorant bliss of youth with great truth, laughs, and style. Even at their sweatiest, Mamas gleefully juvenile leads learn a lot about identity.

Bottom line: Tie This Momma Down.