Y Tu Mama Tambien DVD > Reviews > It's Not Porn if it's got SUBTITLES

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Very ordinary
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?	Not applicable

Advantages:	a funny film with loads of sex, drugs, and alcohol
Disadvantages:	not for prudes !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

A couple of weeks ago, 'Y Tu Mama Tambien' was playing in my university's film series. I'd never seen the cinema so packed. Hundreds of students packed the auditorium and dozens more queued outside. No doubt everyone had heard that this film features a lot of sex. That's certainly why my friends and I turned up!

A lot of people assume that if a film is in a foreign language, it is sophisticated art appropriate for people of all ages. My grandparents' friends didn't do their research before buying their tickets, and ended up walking out on this film. Knowing this, I had high expectations for its raunchiness. Yes, there is a lot of sex (5 sex scenes, one masturbation scene, and one shower scene) and a decent amount of nudity, but I wasn't SHOCKED by any of it. Nor was I particularly turned on, although it was fun to be in cinema full of cheering students when the thing everyone has been hoping will happen finally does. (I don't want to ruin anything... but the final sex scene is far more interesting than the others.)

When this film ended, the first thing I said to my friends was 'That film really didn't have much of a plot. But I really didn't mind.' With two attractive men, an attractive woman, and loads of alcohol, weed, and sex, who needs a plot?

The basic plot revolves around Tenoch (Diego Luna) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal), two 17-year-old Mexican boys whose girlfriends have gone to Europe to travel for the summer. Tenoch's father is an influential figure in Mexico City. He's so important that the president of Mexico attends Tenoch's sister's wedding. Julio is more middle class. At the sister's wedding, the two best friends meet Luisa (Maribel Verdu) who is married to Tenoch's cousin. At the beginning of the film, a lot of characters and facts are presented, but the only three who really matter are Tenoch, Julio, and Luisa.

Luisa is originally from Spain, and she works as a dental technician. Tenoch and Julio are under the impression that she is a philosopher or psychologist and seem slightly disappointed that she just 'sucks drool' out of people's mouths. At the wedding, Tenoch and Julio flirt madly with Luisa and brazenly invite her to go to a non-existent beach called 'Heaven's Mouth' with them. Luisa has no intention of going, but seems flattered by the cute boys' attention. She changes her mind when she receives a phone call from her very drunk husband confessing that he has slept with another woman. As a result, Luisa leaves her husband and embarks on a road trip with the two 17-year-olds.

Although the sex scenes are fairly graphic, they are brief, which is part of the point of the film. The boys think that they are studs, but Luisa teaches them that they leave a lot to be desired in terms of technique and longevity.

The boys have a tight-knit group of friends with a 'manifesto' dictating the rules in their relationship. One of the guidelines is that sleeping with each other's girlfriends is forbidden. However, the boys' girlfriends seem interchangeable. The two young actresses appear only briefly at the start of the film in sex scenes with their respective boyfriends. Also, both boys want to sleep with Luisa. At one point, Luisa makes the perceptive comment that maybe the boys actually want to get it on with EACH OTHER. This is further hinted at during the scene in which the boys masturbate while lying on diving boards and at several other points in the film. Rule #7 in their manifesto is 'Whacking off rules.' It is this calibre of jokes that make this movie fun to watch in a large group that will react to crass humour. But it's certainly not appropriate for certain audiences.

Swimming and water play a large role in the aesthetic of this film. The boys enjoy competing with each other in swimming races-- sometimes naked--and Luisa longs to go to the beach and loves showering. There are also two crucial scenes involving towels.

The two male leads' acting is excellent as they portray arrogant but, ultimately, clueless teenagers. Luisa hopes she can change them by teaching them a thing or two about life and sex, but ends up disappointed, as the boys don't appear to progress much. Luisa's emotions in response to her break-up with her husband seem right on target, as well.

Director Alfonso Cuarón has a rather annoying technique of TELLING rather than SHOWING in terms of character development and plot. He relies much too much on voice-over narration. Also, the bits where the trio is driving around the countryside gets kind of monotonous, as is their swapping of stories of sexual escapades, which may or may not be true.

Also, it didn't seem like this movie had a lot of symbolism or meaning. It was mainly an adolescent, male fantasy of getting high and taking a sexy, older woman on a road trip. The conflicts are mainly between the two boys, and Luisa's character is not very well-developed. Presumably, she goes with the boys to get revenge on her husband, but we don't learn very much about who she is. Some of the boys' friends seem like very interesting characters, but the director only mentions them briefly. For example, one of them is gay, and the boys' reaction to this is very interesting.

The interesting issue of class differences in Mexico is strongly hinted at, but isn't a main focus of the film.

Overall, it seems that this film tried to do too much, but ended up not really accomplishing anything except showing that 17-year-olds don't make very good lovers.

The cinematography can be a bit shaky at times, as this film is fairly low-budget. Some of the shots of beautiful landscapes could have been quite striking had they been film using better quality materials.

The title of this movie translates to 'And Your Mama, Too.' And, in case you hadn't guessed by now, it's in Spanish with English subtitles.

Alfonso Cuarón is slated to direct the third Harry Potter film! Be afraid, be very afraid.