Review of Y Tu Mamá También (2001) by Henry F — 17 Feb 2014

Before he achieved widespread critical and commercial success with Children of Men, Gravity, and the one good Harry Potter movie, Alfonso Cuaron made a little-known Spanish-language drama called Y Tu Mama Tambien. And instead of the flashy special effects and high-concept stories that those other three films have to offer, this movie provides something completely different: An achingly poetic, beautifully acted, and expertly filmed character-driven drama at a time when it was needed the most. This movie has a lot to say, which is both a flaw and an asset. But at a time in film when CGI has all but taken over the medium at the expense of everything else, I'll gladly take it.

Y Tu Mama Tambien is a dark comedy about two stoner Mexican kids who go on a road trip with an attractive, astute, and intelligent older woman named Luisa. The whole film is eerily narrated by a matter-of-fact, straightforward man, making every scene feel formal and important (even if it's not). This is one film where voiceover does not detract from the story, as the narrator's dialogue sounds like a Wikipedia entry-- not taking sides, not giving analysis-- just stating the facts of what is happening, has happened, and will happen in the world the film creates. It also provides a surreal aspect to the bluntly realistic story, which is more than welcome.

Let's just say this right now and get it over with: Yeah, there's a lot of sex in this movie. It's not quite a Spanish-language version of Blue is the Warmest Color, but it's still over-the-top and occasionally graphic. That will be the make-or-break point for some viewers, and I have to agree that a lot of the sex scenes were unnecessary. I'm fine with nudity, gore, sex, profanity, and spontaneous decapitations in films. All I ask is that they actually drive the plot. With this film, it was kind of half-and-half. Some of the sex scenes were important to the plot, but even the ones that were ended up going on way too long most of the time. But this isn't really a massive problem, because what really matters in this film is what the characters say while NOT on top of each other. Luisa is a truly tragic character, hit two ways by an unfaithful husband and by a final plot twist that I will have the decency not to spoil (it's cancer! Hahahaha!). With a life that far down the tubes, she throws everything away to embark on this odyssey with two people she hardly knows. It's like what Thelma and Louise should have been.

The two teenagers, however, are where I have a few problems. They're virtually identical, and their characters aren't quite as defined as they should have been. However, they're similar in the way that Cheech and Chong are-- sure, they're similar, but that's kind of the point. They're good friends, and that makes their banter hilarious and their fights heartbreaking. Still, a little more characterization would have been nice. Nevertheless, these three characters bounce off each other with Tarantino-level force, giving the film a powerful spring to it and filling every scene with well-written dialogue. And it's all set against a beautiful backdrop: Everyone thinks of Mexico as an impoverished shithole (it kind of is), but it really is a majestic impoverished shithole. And Cuaron films it in a way that makes even the most run-down shack of a building look beautiful. I honestly wish I could see the world as if this guy was filming it, because I can imagine that it would be a lot more fun.

Final Score for Y Tu Mama Tambien: 8/10 stars. There are some lines of dialogue that don't ring true (although that could be attributed to bad translation), a few missteps when it comes to the characters, and way too many uncomfortable shots of penises, but altogether this is an engaging and powerfully directed drama that both entertains and instills hope in its audience. I expected this film to be a true dark comedy, with Luisa manipulating the boys to her own ends and acting like an evil control freak. But really, the only villain in this film was the rotten world that its characters were thrown into. We need more movies like this, where a few people band together to find some meaning in an otherwise meaningless world. And what's possibly the most heartening (no offense Leo) aspect of this movie is that meaning can be found just in the fact that people look for it.