The Perez Family
(1995)
romantic comedy
directed
by : Mira Nair
featuring
: Marisa Tomei - Alfred Molina - Anjelica Huston - Chazz Palminteri - Trini
Alvarado
running
time : 1 hour 52 minutes
Old and new loves are turned upside down
through a complex case of mistaken identities in this romantic comedy-drama.
In 1980, Juan Raul Perez (Alfred Molina) is released from a Cuban prison
after spending 20 years behind bars and is allowed to join a mass emigration
to the U.S. While Juan was incarcerated, his wife Carmela Perez (Anjelica
Huston) escaped to Florida with their daughter, and Juan lives for the
day when they can be reunited. En route to Miami, Juan meets Dottie Perez
(Marisa Tomei), a fiery young woman who wants to leave behind her career
as a prostitute. Juan and Carmela miss finding each other when his boat
reaches Miami, and immigration personnel mistakenly assume that Juan and
Dottie Perez are husband and wife; when they learn that families tend to
find American sponsors much faster than individuals, they play along with
the mistake, even convincing other Perezes to pose as their child and grandfather.
Juan discovers that trying to renew an old relationship isn't easy as one
tries to start a new life, especially since Carmela has attracted the attentions
of police lieutenant John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri). Cuban jazz legend
Arturo Sandoval contributed to the soundtrack.
Although its heart is in the right
place, this comic drama from director Mira Nair proves, at best, an uneven
pleasure. Tomei overplays, Huston underplays, and Molina is left to carry
the picture with his grave eyes and Job-like perseverance. One could pause
to reflect that none of these actors is actually Cuban, but a bigger problem
is the wildly fluctuating tone. From broad comedy to grown-up restraint
to overwrought melodrama, the picture shifts gears so often that the audience
may get lost. That said, Robin Swicord's script touches on some powerful
ideas about the tension between sustained longing for the past and renewed
hope for the future. It also explores the experience of modern immigrants
with complementary humor and insight. Rather than dragging such themes
kicking and screaming to the top of her agenda, Nair allows them to speak
quietly and eloquently for themselves. Along the way, she provides plenty
of the lushly beautiful images for which she's known. Neither flawless
nor execrable, The Perez Family is simply watchable. But it's perhaps best
viewed as a rough draft of Monsoon Wedding, the director's similarly themed
2001 masterpiece.