VETE A TOMAR POR CULO BANDEJO! Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN

Playing in only ten cities in the U.S., Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN is another extraordinary foreign film effort that would probably hold meaning for any audience lucky -- and brave enough-- to give it a shot. Bravery seems to be the thing that makes anyone in the U.S. attempt to see a foreign film, because, whereas the average American film provides little in the way of conscious thought and challenging material, your typical foreign film usually has some kind of purpose behind it. I was lucky enough to be living close to a city that was playing the film. Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN is playing only in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and.... Lewisburg, Pennsylvania? Yes, my local art house cinema actually played this film, and I broke out my I.D. (you had to be at least 18 to get in) and went to see it.

Seldom does a teen comedy a la AMERICAN PIE transcend its boundaries and actually attempt to tell us anything about life in general. For the most part, these types of films are primarily designed to make a truckload at the box office by loading themselves down with crude humor, lots of sex, and a few comedic actors. Not the case with Alfonso Cuaron’s 2001 film Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, a Mexican Spanish-language film that takes the usual teen sex romp and actually does something with it, showing us how our two horny boys actually learn quite a bit about life, death, friendship, love, and, of course, sex, so in the end, we get a film that’s not only amusing and funny, but thought provoking and memorable as well.

The film’s plot follows the lives of two teens, Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna) whose girlfriends have just left for a European vacation. Bored out of their minds, the boys decide to try to pick up a relative of theirs that they meet at a wedding for a trip to a secluded beach. After the aunt, Luisa (played by Maribel Verdu), finds out that her husband has been cheating on her, she agrees to go with the two teens. After this, the film really begins, as the trio makes their way cross country in a beat up old station wagon.

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN plays like a bunch of genres thrown into one film. You have elements of the teen sex comedy which show up quite a bit, taking a particular hold on the first half of the film. Also, there are elements of the “road trip” movie, since we have three characters embarking on a journey far across the country to get to Heaven’s Mouth Beach (a name the boys made up in an effort to get Louisa to come along). The film is also, quite obviously a coming-of-age film, since the two boys end up learning quite a bit about life in general, with a particular emphasis on friendship and love.

With all of the expected scenes of adolescent humor, you know, sex, drugs, rock and roll, what sets this film apart from all the other films that have tried this formula?

Well, first off, Cuaron’s film obviously gives us a different perspective, since it doesn’t take its base in the American film industry where making money rules all other elements, including making a good message for the film and having artistic value. Cuaron’s film is packed with elements that you normally wouldn’t find in your average American film, and provides a different view of teenage life that looks at a life almost the complete opposite of the American suburbia view that was seen in AMERICAN PIE and others. Besides giving us the whole teen comedy routine, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN also provides a fascinating subtext of being set amongst the historic Mexican culture, and gives us a look at how our two teen heroes exist among it. The film is narrated to a certain degree, although the narration does more for explaining Mexican culture then it does for adding to the story. This, in the end, makes the film better because we learn quite a bit about the workings of the family in Mexico, and also quite a bit about how much normal life differs between the U.S. and Mexico. All the main characters in the film have the surname of a famous figure in Mexican history (Zapata, Cortes, Carranza, etc.), so the film offers even more insight into Mexican culture in this way.

Cuaron’s film also packs a powerful message at the end where Tenoch and Julio learn that sex isn’t the only thing that’s important in life, and that friendship isn’t always forever. The movie also ends on a note that will change the impact of many scenes shown previously, so a repeat viewing of this one probably wouldn’t hurt. Really, this film is incredibly rewarding, one of the best films I’ve seen in a while, and truly a movie that redefines what a teen comedy could be. We’ll just have to wait and see if this has any effect on the way American teen comedies are made, but judging from history, I’d say we can probably expect more of the same.

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN garnered a reputation as being sexually graphic, and although there is a LOT of sex to be found in its 105 minute running time, the end result is hardly as pornographic and explicit as they would like you to think it was. Truth be told, there is WAY more sex to be found in Cuaron’s film than you’d find in your average Hollywood flick. From the opening scene up until ten minutes from the end, there’s almost constant sex scenes, but is the end result that offensive? No. Look at the sex scenes in this film and they’ll show a distinct differential between your stereotypical Hollywood sex scene. Here, you’ll find that sex actually looks to be happening. There’s no real concern over “oops! I think we just showed too much skin there” that seems to be the driving force behind Hollywood sex scenes, where most of the time, the main consideration seems to be how much breast are they going to show. In TU MAMA TAMBIEN, you will get a whole lot of full frontal nudity, both sexes, and quite a bit of erotic grappling, but in the end, there’s really nothing to get flustered about. The sex actually looks like real sex, not just a way to give us some T & A for bigger box office appeal, and besides, if you’re going to watch TU MAMA simply for the sex, you’ll be highly disappointed.

Cuaron’s film is exquisitely shot, showing us the splendor of the lush Mexican landscape, and giving us unique and unconventional views of what’s going on in the story. The film doesn’t look like your average Hollywood blockbuster; the colors are slightly less defined and the picture not quite as crisp, but I think this adds even more authenticity and power to the finished film. This way, the film doesn’t look so overblown and contrived, but instead realistic and down-to-earth.

Overall, I was very impressed with Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN. It packs into one package a funny sex comedy, a painfully realistic story of friendship and the tribulations that go along with it, and ends with a moving story of life and death. This film has to be one of the best of the year, and probably one of the best films I’ve seen in the new millennium. If you have any ounce of admiration for aesthetic, rather than commercial films, I’d highly recommend Alfonso Cuaron’s Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN and I’d give it a full five stars.