America 101 (2005) User Reviews

A Masterflaw!!!

[renzogianell · 2/10 · 8 December 2006]

This film (if you can call it 'film') is just terrible. The acting, sound, montages, editing, soundtrack, are as bad as they can get, also the cinematography is very poor. Many of the situations presented are just old,expectable, boring comedy, they seem taken from a Tom & Jerry episode:the 'hide and seek' montage, the 'get the juicy steak without being discovered'. Lets not forget the bakery in a small Mexican town using state of the art machinery, and that the two brothers spoke with each other in English, also 'Guantanamera' is a Cuban song not Mexican ..and terrible songs from the 80's (which had nothing to do with the set-up)etc, etc, etc. I'm very disappointed with the fact that i rented this flick based on the quantity of awards mentioned in its cover. I thought it had the potential to be a solid independent production and it ended up being a tremendous fiasco. I would like my money back and on top,get paid for psychological damage.

A comedic tutorial about how to survive a border crossing into southern Arizona, and better yet how to get back to where you came from

[nyerinaz · 9/10 · 21 April 2005]

This is a story of two very different brothers living in Sonora Mexico helping their family run their local bakery. Angel is the younger brother who has dreams that don't include slaving over an oven all day, he dreams of fast money and the good life which he believes is waiting for him in America. Carlos the older brother is bound by family obligation, doing the right thing, and a girlfriend who is desperate to marry him. Carlos tries to talk Angel out of his crazy dream of going to the states, until he learns via a late night conversation between his parents that the bakery isn't prospering like he thought. Before you know, the two of them are set out for the harsh desert in hope's of making a better life.

It doesn't take long before you are fully engaged with these character's and their story. This movie was smart and funny, it kept you on your toes. These are character's that you can't help but care about, which is all I ask for when I'm watching a film, no matter what the genre.

This was my first experience seeing an independent film in HD, and it just added to the overall experience of this very entertaining film.

Although this movie was light in it's context regarding the very serious issue of boarder crossing, I don't think that the viewer was lost on this issue, and I congratulate the film makers for that.

A warm and funny film

[Uaz_alum · 10/10 · 23 April 2005]

I recently attended the Arizona International Film Festival and had a chance to catch this delightful film.

America 101 follows two brothers from Mexico and their quest to find the elusive 'American Dream'. With home life too boring for the younger brother Angel, he hatches a plan to head for America where he thinks he'll find mountains of money and he believes his accent will get him laid. The older, wiser brother hints that Angel has tried it before and failed miserably. Things change when Carlos overhears his parents talk about their business closing and decides to go with his younger brother in the hopes of helping the family. This is when the real laughs start. Their adventure brings them in contact with lots of really interesting characters and one uncomfortably warm water cooler. Though there are lots of laughs, the underlying seriousness of the dangers of border crossings is never lost. A real feat unto itself.

I almost immediately connected with the brothers, Angel and Carlos. I am sure we will see more from these two in the future. The rest of the cast made the most of their roles and many of them from the Big Chief to the twin restaurant managers, are very memorable.

If given a chance this film could do well theatrically, especially along the border country. I thoroughly recommend this film and look forward to more from this director.

America 101

[Shazam811 · 10/10 · 20 March 2005]

When I watched America 101, I got a true feel about Arizona's border culture. The brothers share a bond I feel with my family and my brothers so I could easily relate to them. I caught a clip of Oprah the other day and she commented on the movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman(great movie!) saying something along the lines of how she appreciated the way it portrayed black people as genuine people in relationships sharing love and feelings with hugging and kissing showing that black people are just like everyone else, and not as stereotypical trouble makers as often portrayed. And this is how I feel about America 101 on how it shows Mexicans as hardworking and genuine. I felt a connection with the brothers on their journey to the U.S. And the bonus to it all was that it was a comedy that had my mom and me laughing the whole way through. I enjoyed the beautiful southwest landscape and my mom said she thought the music was great. There was light profanity in a couple of spots but other than that I would recommend it to the entire family.

Very entertaining. Captivating and educational

[rmarsett · 10/10 · 5 January 2006]

America 101 is a film that entertains with smart comedy. I applaud the writers and director for successfully accomplishing the daunting task of providing educational material about the all to serious problem with border crossing in the southwest United States. They use comedy as the vehicle to keep the attention of the viewers during the entire film. The severity of the problem is not lost, but rather presented in the comedy of the film. The writing was great,and the cinematography was absolutely astounding. The film has a great flow and leaves the viewer with a good feeling at the end. Highly entertaining film, and I would recommend this film to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Soooo Funny!

[C_prod · 9/10 · 29 April 2005]

I saw this movie during the RiverRun Film Festival and it is so funny. The two main guys are hilarious and the cowboy guy has a really funny scene which is totally unexpected out in the desert while the two guys are hiding, but i won't ruin it for anyone and tell you what he does. This movie was really hilarious, looked great and had a great story. There was a fairly Long question session after the film with the producer and i was surprised at how much info about immigration was kind of snuck inside. I didn't really notice a lot of it until everyone else started asking questions about it. Great film, would love to see it again. If anyone knows if i can get it on DVD let me know. I know, I should have asked at the festival, oops.

they should rename it America 202 because that's how many times i laughed

[heatherjohnson3000 · 10/10 · 10 May 2005]

the question isn't "if" you will like America 101, the question is "how much" will you love America 101.

as you drive home from the theater, you might ask yourself "why do i love America 101 so much" or "why can't i stop laughing, i love America 101", but i urge you not to be concerned. these are natural happenings, and though they stay with you for a long time, they will do no harm.

adding to the tight script, and the nuanced performances, shooting the film on location in tucson makes a huge impact. i've never been to tucson, but i just bought a ticket to check it out. maybe i'll even try and find some of the locations. that could be fun, huh?