Y Tu Mama Tambien Review
by Jon Popick (jpopick AT sick-boy DOT com)January 7th, 2002
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Okay, it's about a pair of horny teenage boys hoping to nail a ton of chicks during summer vacation, but And Your Mother, Too isn't merely a Mexican version of Porky's or American Pie. Call me crazy, but the Venice Film Festival probably wouldn't give awards to actors who shove their dicks into a pie or men's room crevice, nor would they bestow praise on the knuckleheads who wrote it (but they did to Mother in both instances).
The boys in question hail from opposite sides of the tracks. Tenoch (Diego Luna, Before Night Falls) is loaded and comes from one of Mexico's most powerful (and most corrupt) families. Julio Zapata (Gael García Bernal, Octavio from Amores Perros) isn't exactly poor but decidedly lower-middle class and has a last name synonymous with revolution. As Mother begins, Tenoch and Julio send their girlfriends (Ana López Mercado and María Aura) off to an Italian vacation with a goodbye game of grab-ass, after which they contemplate their own summer plans (which in Mexico is apparently done laying on a diving board while you and your pal jerk off).
At a ritzy wedding attended by the President and his wife, the boys run into Tenoch's cousin Jano (Juan Carlos Remolina), who has a smokin' 28-year-old wife named Luisa (Maribel Verdú, Goya in Bordeaux). Without even taking the time to roll their tongues back into their heads, Tenoch and Julio tell Luisa about an incredible secluded beach called Boca del Ciel (or "Heaven´s Mouth") that they're planning on heading down to in a few days, hoping she'll become infatuated with the fictitious place they've made up simply to impress her. The surprise, however, is on the boys when Luisa calls them and asks if she can accompany them on their trip (she's on the run from her cheating, loutish husband).
So Tenoch and Julio load up the station wagon, pick Luisa up and take off for a place that doesn't really exist. Since both boys are attracted to Luisa, they begin to compete for her affection - and, yes, there's a bunch of gratuitous sex that happens in a myriad of combinations. Secrets are revealed (hence the title), feelings are hurt and everyone learns a thing or two about themselves.
Yeah, it sounds like a typical coming-of-age, road-trip movie, but Mother has a lot of things going for it that other films don't. The pedigree is much stronger than what you'd find in a typical teen rank-out comedy, with writer/director Alfonso Cuarón responsible for the glowing versions of Dickens' Great Expectations and Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess. Like those two films, Mother was shot by the brilliant cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Ali). I almost fell out of my chair when the film offered songs by Brian Eno and Frank Zappa (they're not exactly the type of music you expect to hear in a Mexican film).
While I don't particularly agree with everything Cuarón and co-writer/brother Carlos did with Expectations, their script for Mother is very strong, with tons of great dialogue (especially the sexual banter) and nifty narration from Daniel Giménez Cacho that's a lot like Amélie (but not quite as funny). They also incorporate a lot of environmental and political issues into the film, though I'm sure most of the latter would be far more appreciated by those familiar with Mexican politics.
1:45 - Not Rated
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