The Perez Family

Plot synopsis:
Cuban boat-lift refugees (Carter era) land in Miami, with different goals. The story focuses on relationships that develop under hard circumstances, with long lasting effects. Drama is real, story is clean and not predictable. Character development is adequate, actor list is 1st class. Good writing. Marisa Tomei is incredible, as usual, and her character was the most developed, but a bit predictable at some points. At times, however, it feels as though you are seeing the table of contents version only of a great novel. There was so much talent available, and so much more character development was expected. Could be editing issues. The politics both, national and international were glossed over, and made to seem insignificant, like another day in the park. The boat lift of political prisioners from Cuba, deserved way more development and insight and with the amazing cast, it was an oppurtunity lost. The end of the movie provides a twist but not so strange as to be unbelievable, but again,
so much interpersonal drama was available but not included. The acting was excellent considering what the actors were given to develop.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Good Cast Helps This Pleasant Love Story (spoilers)..
Alfred Molina and Marisa Tomei head up the cast of this pleasant romantic comedy about a former political prisoner and a former sugar cane farmer who leave Cuba for the United States in 1980 on what I presume to be the famous Marielle Boat Lift that brought Cuban exiles to the states (although the boat looks much smaller than it did in 'Before Night Falls').
Having the same last name, the man and the bouyant young woman pose as husband and wife (and later members of an extended Perez family) in order to gain a sponsor who will give them a place to stay and some kind of work.But, Juan (Molina) is expecting to be reunited with his wife (Angelica Houston) and grown daughter (Trini Alvarado).
His traitor brother-in-law, who was responsible for the twenty years he spent in that dreadful prison, comes to the dock looking for Juan, but is told by the guard that Juan and his wife already passed through.
Juan, in the meantime, has no idea about the misunderstanding, but longs to be reunited with his family.However, along the way, Juan and Dorita (Marisa Tomei in a fantastic performance) build a friendship, and eventually, fall in love for each other.
Juan and his wife, after so many years apart and finding satisfaction and closeness in relationship, they find it hard to rekindle what they once had.
Despite being married, they had been away from each for more than twenty years and could not just pick up where they left off.It is a pleasant romantic comedy and has some very funny moments as well as an excellent cast, particularly Marisa Tomei, who pretty much drives the whole movie as the young Cuban female who tries to create a close family (with others similarly named Perez) and searching out something like an "American Dream.".
The director is known for her more intense and dramatic films but here she proves that she can direct a comedy.
Though 'The Perez Family' isn't without its share of flaws, it is overall a funny movie with loads of laugh-out-loud moments.
The film is about a group of Cuban immigrants who move to the states, one of them is in search of freedom and another in search of his family whom he hasn't seen for 20 years.
While the film is essentially a comedy, Nair does tackle some issues that represent the darkness of an immigrant's life.The score is energetic and the cinematography is vivacious.
The dialogues are wonderful, especially the ones between Tomei and Molina.Marisa Tomei has never looked hotter.
The late Celia Cruz makes a pleasantly awkward appearance.'The Perez Family' is quite a charming and funny romantic comedy that gives us a glimpse of the hardships of immigrant life but also lots to laugh about.
Would like to see Nair make more comedy..
Exploits the spice of Cuba but is really just a predictable romantic comedy/drama.
When President Carter declared an open door policy to anyone who wanted to escape Cuba and come to America, Castro used this to clear his jails of criminals and political prisoners.
When Juan Raul Perez gets on the boat he hopes his wife will be there to meet him, as she fled to the US decades ago.
When she doesn't come he ends up in the camp with everyone else, including the feisty Dorita Evita Perez.
For that reason they pretend to be married and gradually start putting their fake family in place.I was drawn to this film by the cast list and in fairness I should have spotted that this film about Cubans had very few Cuban or even Latino actors in it.
The film tries to fizzle with Latin spirit while at the same time delivering a rather convoluted romantic drama of sorts.
It partly works but the writing isn't great and the film failed to really engage me as it just seemed a little forced as if it had been a good idea once but had had so many knobs added to it that it got a little daffy.
If you can't see where this is going then I salute your ability to blindly accept what is given to you.Talking of clichés, the casting of so few Hispanic/Cuban/Latino actors was a mystery to me.
Tomei was the name that drew me to this film but in turns her role is good and bad.
She has an important role and it was necessary for her to be feisty etc but she overdoes it a little bit - hammy up her Latin cliché at the start for all she is worth; she gets better though.
Molina is another strange choice but he does well in his role and carries some dignity through the film - it's not his fault that the script gets silly in trying to keep him and Huston apart.
SNL's Cleghorne plays a cop and, in the spirit of ethnic clichés, pushes the `oh-no-she-didn't' eye-rolling, `talk to the hand', neck moving black character for all she is worth - when she does it as a joke it is OK but here it just felt like laziness - especially for such a minor character.Overall, any Hollywood film with Latinos/Cubans/Hispanics in it is going to force the rhythm for all it is worth and here is no different.
It starts out boasting historical context and spice, falls into a rather convoluted series of plot twists that end up taking the film down a rom-com road to a solution that, although badly delivered, unthinkable and out-of-nowhere, was obvious from about 30 minutes into the film..
Marisa Tomei is an absolute delight and the movie is good too.
Marisa Tomei was an absolute delight.
Very, very good movie with a little bit of everything you could want.
I remember I was seeing a play "Ragtime" and I wondered if an immigration movie/play existed that was not incredibly depressing and then I remembered "The Perez Family".
It's like that excercise where a shrink tells the husband to pretend he's interested in sex with his wife and then it the feelings actually occur.
Here they pretend to be a family to get through immigration and then they actually do begin to care for one another and be like a true family.I also loved how it could get a little surealistic at moments.
Or the moment Juan sees his wife kissing the cop and as he crushes the photo we see a red stain appear over his heart.
And yes Marisa Tomei has never been hotter!
;-)I also loved a lot of the minor roles such as the Indian immigration official who clearly realizes what's going on and clearly doesn't care.
Marisa Tomei is wonderful!
Marisa Tomei is wonderful!
ALfred Molina is great as the confused political prisoner.The story begins as Alfred Molina sends his family off to America during a crackdown of the Cuban Communists.
Marisa Tomei is a young worker in the sugar cane fields.
He as a released political prisoner trying to find the family he'd already sent to America years earlier,  she as a poor worker trying to get to a better life.
In the confusion of the long line at immigration and in order to get placed with a sponsor more quickly she claims him as her husband and an old man as her father in law.For those of us who's families have been here long enough that we don't remember immigration this movie is a great reminder of why so many people have wanted to come here over the years.
This excellent film came out at the same time as the similar titled "My Family."  How interesting it always is when twin films come out that way.
Both were excellent films with similar marketing campaigns, but Marisa Tomei in "The Perez Family" is what makes this film the superior of the two.
As Dottie Perez, Marisa Tomei is sizzling hot, as sexy as anything to dance across the screen in decades, and simply dissolves into her character.
If Marisa Tomei won a Oscar for "My Cousin Vinny" (which she did), then her performance here, in comparison, deserves a Nobel Peace Prize!
I dare any one, male or female, to watch this film and not fall instantly in love with every inch of her.
Our entire family adores this film and Marisa Tomei's performance..
Well, most have summed up the story and acting pretty well, but I thought this was a beautiful film about indominable human spirit.
As Tomei's character states in the beginning of the film, "I am like Cuba: always subjugated, but never conquered" (paraphrased).That, for me, was the theme of the film throughout.
Tomei was wonderful, but I loved the subtle work from Molina and Huston..
This is a cute little film starring Marisa Tomei (Wild Hogs, My Cousin Vinny) and Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2, Frida) as Cubans who came over on the Marial boat lift in the 80s.Juan Raul Perez (Molina) is married to Carmela (Anjelica Huston), who came to America 20 years previous while Juan languished in a Cuban prison.
He is stuck in an immigration facility with Dorita Evita Perez (Tomei), who is not related to him, but pretends to be his wife so they can get out.
They even pick up a father and a son in their attempt at freedom.While Juan is trying to escape and reunite with Carmela, her brother, Angel (Diego Wallraff) is trying to keep them apart.
Further complicating the adventure is a cop, Lt. John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri), who is falling in love with Carmela.It is a sweet little comedy that Tomei does so well and worth spending some time with..
It could have gone either way - a drama or a comedy.
Poor Chazz Palmenteri (Lt. Pirelli), an actor of some substance, had no substance here - the script not allowing meaning or motivation for his character.
Alfred Molina (Perez) started out as dark and brooding, his love for the beautiful Carmela (Angela Houston) ruling his every thought.
Then when he finally finds her, you'd think, wow, now this guy's going to go crazy to get her (after all, it's been twenty years in prison thinking only of her).
Mind you, this is his great love.
thinking only of Perez and along comes a cop (Chazz) and she's totally overwhelmed.
Her brother does not seem to not want Carmela and Perez to reunite, but then, for no reason at all, when he sees Perez at a dance where Carmella is dancing happily with Chazz, he screams to Carmela something like "Look, look, it's Perez, he's here." Carmela pulls out a gun and aims it at poor Perez - she's going to shoot him!
If ever there was a film where character motivation was weak, indeed, absent, this is it..
If you appreciate the acting ability of Marissa Tomei, such as her great role in My Cousin Vinny, you will like this one.
To me the movie was poorly made and the main reasons were that a lot of things happening were not made clear to the audience and that the characters' motivations were often unclear.To me one interesting aspect of the story was that the meaning of "family" was analysed by looking at the form and function and how it affects the people involved (rather than taking strangers and showing how they love and support each other unlike their families, although they are not formally related).
It is a trope used in some Christmas flicks but in a different way which I never found satisfactory.What I liked the most was how the meaning of "freedom" was shown.
The theme was very clear throughout the story and was common for most of the characters.Overall, although not the clearest movie in regards to story and character motivation, I think it is worth a go and could actually be better the second time..
Sugar cane worker Dorita Evita Perez (Marisa Tomei) is looking for a brighter Hollywood life.
Political prisoner Juan Raul Perez (Alfred Molina) is released with the Mariel boatlift.
The two Cuban refugees of the same last name are mistakenly put together as husband and wife by Immigration officials.
He has not seen his real wife Carmela Perez (Anjelica Huston) for 20 years who is in Miami with their daughter Teresa Perez (Trini Alvarado).
Carmela's brother Angel Diaz comes looking for him and finds him with Dorita as his wife.
Lt. John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri) is investigating and gets close to Carmela.
Dorita pushes Juan to stay together to get a sponsor.
After collecting more members, the new Perez family sets off to find their way.Marisa Tomei is effervescent and brash.
This may work better if it stayed only with her and Molina.
I'm less sure about his family in America.
The love story gets twisted into a pretzel.
I can't help but wonder if it would be infinitely sweeter to have Juan find Teresa at the end of the movie with a daughter he never knew existed.
"The Perez Family" can't decide what it wants to be--a romance, a comedy, or a historical documentation of a period.
It seems to move from tragedy to comedy to the surreal with such alacrity and little sense of purpose that the entire film feels inconsequential.All of the actors do a fine job.
Marisa Tomei, in particular, gives a sensual performance that is just tossed away by the schizophrenic narrative.
In the end, "The Perez Family" feels populated by caricatures.Within this film, I think there are the beginnings of a solid serious film.
And a sensual love story.
But misdirection, bad editing and/or bad writing have mashed them all together into a lump of confusion.I do think it is possible to blend comedy, tragedy and more in one film.
When I think how well some of the "Perez" characters could fit into a story like that, it reinforces my disappointment of this film.There are parts of this film that could be very striking if they were within a coherent story.
This was a typical Hollywood film gone "A MUCK" portraying minorities in this country in ignorant ways as only Hollywood can.
I'm sure that the director tried to make the film seem beautiful...but UGHHH...the artistic license was just way too over the top.
Another Hollywood failure that could have been Great gone bad because of hand tailoring movies to marketing for U.S. consumption....Don't waste your time watching this film unless you don't mind wasting it on useless drivel, remember it will be precious time that you will NEVER ever be able to recuperate....what a piece of Garbage.
I can't begin to describe the truly exotic and sensual feeling behind "The Perez Family." The direction was at it's best starring top stars like Marisa Tomei, Angelica Huston, & Alfred Molina, and a great supporting cast including Chazz Palminteri, Trini Alvarado, & Celia Cruz.It's the story on a family trying to move to the land of the free, America, in the 1980's.
Years later when he is released, he climbs on board and heads to the U.S. hoping to find his family.
Upon arrival in the states, Miami seems to be a much bigger place than he imagined and hopes of finding his family seems a lot harder than expected.
It's romantic, sensual, and funny & if you believe in fairy tales, this movie is made for you.
A cute fantasy of a film, Marisa and Alfred Molina star..
Nothing else good on TV, and not feeling like going to the DVD store, we watched "Perez Family" on WE network.
Molina's wife and child go to Miami by boat from Cuba, he stays behind to care for the sugar cane, lands in jail for a long time.
Twenty years later he manages to leave, and on the boat meets Marisa Tomei, a sexy Cuban prostitute, who at arrival in Key West suggests they represent themselves as "Perez and Perez", a married couple.
They begin a life in Miami, his real wife turns up (Angelica Huston), she has fallen for a policeman (Chaz Palminteri), meanwhile Molina and Tomei begin to appreciate each other.In the climax, Molina and Huston meet up at a dance, 20 years after they last saw each other, they smile, are cordial, but they prefer the lives that fate has dealt them, Molina and Tomei stay together, his wife and the policeman stay together.
Not heavy, a cute little romantic comedy.
Marisa Tomei is so good!.
Nice comedy about immigration with a sensual Marisa Tomei.
A political prisoner (Juan Raoul Perez) flees to the US looking for his wife (Carmela)and his daughter (Teresa) he hasn't seen for 20 years.
On the boat and in the fugitives' camp he gets to know a girl (Dorita Evita Perez) with whom he starts a fake family to speed up the immigration procedure.
By the time he manages to meet with his wife Carmela he has already fallen in love with Dorita, and Carmela with a policeman.
Dorita is an exuberant, sensual and sweet character.
Juan well represents the estrangement of a prisoner and immigrant ( in a way, he recalls the Castaway of "L'invenzione di Morel").
The movie is worth seeing for few good scenes (like the one where Dorita learns that John Wayne is dead and starts crying), Marisa Tomei's beauty, and some Cuban music..
I love Marisa Tomei's acting ability and expected a lot from this movie because of her.
However, I didn't think the story itself worked as a romantic comedy - - there's a child murdered as a plot point, for heaven's sake!
And the romantic tension between Angelica Huston and Chaz Palminteri is non-existent, although we are supposed to believe it overcomes the love she has maintained for 20 years for the husband left behind in Cuba - and now restored to her.
Watch this film for a great Marisa Tomei performance, but don't expect much more.