This movie was terrible in pretty much every respect, but the worst part of it was the insulting stereotypes and shallow clichés. On a superficial, surface viewing and understanding of the movie, one would think the movie was about Puerto Ricans finding their identities in a world where they are the minority, but that isn't what I was left with. As a Puerto Rican who grew up in Chicago myself, I know that this movie took the worst of the culture here and turned it into a movie. It leaves the impression that we are all drug-dealing, promiscuous, violent, lying gang-bangers. A look at the characters and their part in the movie shows this.
At first glance, Tata really is the stereotypical Puerto Rican. She dresses suggestively, speaks with an accent, cuts hair, and has souvenirs all over her apartment. Tata desperately wants to be the parade queen, but we find out Tata is actually white...so what does her character have to do with being a Puerto Rican and finding identity? The audience is left in the dark as to why Tata knows how to speak Spanish so well, or how she has that incredible tan, or more importantly, why she is so set on being queen.
German finally has a job his father can be proud of, where he's not hustling on the street or getting into trouble. However, he seems to be the only minority in the company and feels the need to prove himself. His company is trying to convince the residents of the neighborhood to move out. Yes, German has a good job, but he must back-stab the people in his neighborhood, destroying it and people's lives to get to the top.
Willy and Lola have that stereotypical toxic relationship; of course, he's a thug who sells weed and she's a student looking to buy. They become involved with each other, but Lola doesn't want to get tied down and Willy is extremely possessive and jealous. Instead of working things out, everything escalates for the worse. Willy ends up beating a man close to death as a result of his hurt feelings.
I'll be the first to admit that there are probably many Puerto Ricans in the world who live like the characters in the movie do. But instead of the characters grappling with their Puerto Rican identity in an American world, they are overcome by the struggles. The important parts of the culture hardly ever come into play in the movie. The audience is shown an extremely biased side of the spectrum instead of a more balanced shot.
Another reviewer said the film didn't show enough of Chicago in the film, which is something I agree with completely. It really bothered me throughout the film, especially when Chicago is so rich with culture, and not just the Puerto Rican part of it.
The film was a waste of time and I would not recommend it to anyone.
At first glance, Tata really is the stereotypical Puerto Rican. She dresses suggestively, speaks with an accent, cuts hair, and has souvenirs all over her apartment. Tata desperately wants to be the parade queen, but we find out Tata is actually white...so what does her character have to do with being a Puerto Rican and finding identity? The audience is left in the dark as to why Tata knows how to speak Spanish so well, or how she has that incredible tan, or more importantly, why she is so set on being queen.
German finally has a job his father can be proud of, where he's not hustling on the street or getting into trouble. However, he seems to be the only minority in the company and feels the need to prove himself. His company is trying to convince the residents of the neighborhood to move out. Yes, German has a good job, but he must back-stab the people in his neighborhood, destroying it and people's lives to get to the top.
Willy and Lola have that stereotypical toxic relationship; of course, he's a thug who sells weed and she's a student looking to buy. They become involved with each other, but Lola doesn't want to get tied down and Willy is extremely possessive and jealous. Instead of working things out, everything escalates for the worse. Willy ends up beating a man close to death as a result of his hurt feelings.
I'll be the first to admit that there are probably many Puerto Ricans in the world who live like the characters in the movie do. But instead of the characters grappling with their Puerto Rican identity in an American world, they are overcome by the struggles. The important parts of the culture hardly ever come into play in the movie. The audience is shown an extremely biased side of the spectrum instead of a more balanced shot.
Another reviewer said the film didn't show enough of Chicago in the film, which is something I agree with completely. It really bothered me throughout the film, especially when Chicago is so rich with culture, and not just the Puerto Rican part of it.
The film was a waste of time and I would not recommend it to anyone.