Las mujeres verdaderas tienen curvas

A coming of age story in which Ana (America Ferrera) deals with the effects of tradition, gender, social class and race on her future and on her family. The cinematic gaze on Ana is that she is a healthy sized Latin woman with curves and intelligence coming from a lower class family. Certain stereotypes of Latin people and women are reinforced in this movie in the form of Ana's mother, Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros) and sister, Estela (Ingrid Oliu), which are then in turn critiqued by Ana. For example, Ana's sister owns a clothing sweat-shop which relies on the upper class white people for everything. Estela fears the upper/dominant/powerful class, while Ana confronts them and makes her demands perfectly clear without compromising herself. Ana's mother has revolved her life around getting married and raising a family, while Ana refuses to compromise her future and dreams by taking a husband and household on before she really wants to.

The movie revolves primarily around Ana's college application. This is the plot device whose effects progress the film. The scholarship to the University is dependent upon the fact that Ana is a minority, and without the scholarship, Ana and her family make it clear that they could not financially afford to send Ana to college, which would then reproduce stereotypes of women and minorities of being less financially stable.

Eventually, both despite and with the help of her gender, race and social and economic class, Ana is able to advance herself and develop a sense of confidence in herself and her identity.

REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES (2002) ***1/2 America Ferrera, Lupe Ontiveros, Ingrid Oliu, George Lopez, Brian Sites, Soledad St. Hilaire, Dale E. Turner. Above average indie diamond in the rough slice of life portrayal of a Mexican American teenager (Ferrara in a remarkable acting debut) trying to cope with her dream to attend college and her quarrelsome relationship with her loving but problematic mother (Ontiveros who gives a beautifully modulated turn) whose own insecurities and frustrations are taken out on her zaftig daughter. Funny, poignant and ultimately a triumph in full-bodied (no pun intended) protagonists without compromising it's clear headed vision of how society and culture myopically decides what is pleasant to the eye (or acceptable for that matter). Finally a film that portrays Latinos in a positive light by not making it a ‘racial film' either. The screenplay by George LaVoo and Josefina Lopez (adapting her play) offers insight to familiar subject matter but with a refreshing focus on character development by not compromising it's strong message: to accept one self is to love one self. (Dir: Patricia Cardoso)

Real Women Have Curves is a very enjoyable film, and also a very real film. It deals with very real issues concerning women and especially young women. The main character is of the Hispanic persuasion and though she is a very bright girl and could possibly get into a good collage she runs the risk of being swallowed up in the death trap job of making dresses that cost them 18 dollars to make but get sold in department stores for 800 dollars. Her mother keeps telling her she's overweight overlooking the fact that she is heavier than her daughter. This film is very much set in the real world, and the problems facing the characters are problems we all face at one time or another like "can I pay the rent on time?" or "will this person like me for who I am instead of what I look like?" Within the context of the film the answers to those questions are yes, and yes which may be one of the reasons this film is so enjoyable. America Ferrera's performance is reminiscent of the kind of girl you would see at your local high school, and the message of this movie is one that more people should take to heart. Be who you are, not who others want you to be, follow your dreams, and the like. I was surprised with how frankly this film deals with teenage sexuality, and how it challenges the concept of what beauty is in modern culture makes it a very progressive film indeed.

I was very impressed with this movie. First of all, it's very funny. It's definitely a feel-good movie, but at the same time doesn't resort to campy sentimentality. It's also a film that escapes from the stereotypes and depicts Latinos like they're meant to be depicted. One realistic touch that I appreciated was that half the time the characters would speak Spanish and the other half they'd speak English. That is how it seems to be in most Latin-American families. You rarely hear English spoken 100 percent of the time, unless both the parents and children are from the states. The director didn't worry if American audiences would be too lazy to read the subtitles. What's the big deal about reading subtitles? I'm taking a class in International Film, so I always cringe at the fact that when I tell other students about the class, their immediate reactions are, "God, you gotta read subtitles?" I'm proud to be an American, but at times like that my pride gradually lessens.

It's about time a film is released in which the main character is not only female, but a slightly overweight female. Because, and those hypnotized by the media be prepared to gasp, not all women are a size 3! Who's to say that a woman can't be pretty while having a few extra pounds? I think America Ferrera is a very pretty girl, not to mention she has charm. In everyday society, there are overweight guys and girls who have dating lives! In this film, her eventual love interest is a skinny white guy. That's not unusual. Unfortunately, media possesses us into assuming that the only types of relationships involve pretty guys and pretty girls. I'm sure even in California that isn't always the truth, despite its reputation for being Land of the Beautiful People.

I like how the film depicts the girl's mom and her hypocritical attitudes towards her daughter's obesity. Throughout the film, I never understood why her much more overweight mother was criticizing her daughter for being a big fat pig. But this happens in real life! Later in the film, the mother even says, "I'm married. I have the right to be fat." Parents can have those attitudes, unfortunately. And like in the film, they don't hesitate to humiliate their sons and daughters in public for having a certain problem like obesity.

The acting is topnotch. Lupe Ontiveros doesn't always receive decent roles in American film, and it's because of that many American audiences aren't familiar with her. That's too bad, because she's really a terrific actress and in "Real Women" I finally did get a chance to see her in a decent role. The ironic thing is she's often cast as Hispanic characters (usually maids) who have just came to this country, yet she was born in the states and hardly has an accent. Newcomer Ferrera is also incredible, and I hope to see her in future projects. She really has much potential, and if Hollywood studios decide to remove their heads from their behinds and cast men and women who aren't less than 120 pounds (in roles other than the "fat slob") she'll become a rising star. Finally, I was genuinely impressed with George Lopez, who actually plays a serious role, never once drifting into comic territory. It's rare to find a comedian who has just as much talent at acting as being funny, so it's nice to discover that George may be one of those people.

If you want to see a good, solid, entertaining low-budget indie gem that'll make you think and make you laugh, then this is definitely the film for you! It's one of the most original films I've seen come out in a while.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

"Real Women Have Curves" deserves the by-word-of-mouth breakthrough success earned by "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Both deal with traditional families coping with a less than compliant young daughter but the differences between the films are real and this movie is a stunning, attention-grabbing, beautifully acted tale of coming of age.

Ana (America Ferrara) is graduating high school in L.A. and not just any high school. She's a Latina from a working class family who made it into Beverly Hills H.S. Her favorite teacher urges not only that she attend college but that she apply to Columbia University. She's also what some would describe as full-figured. That's just one of the obsessions of her mother, Carmen (Lupe Ontineros), herself a rather large lady. Incessantly, publicly and crudely hounding her daughter about her weight and other shortcomings, mostly imagined, Carmen can win the annual Witch of the West award with ease.

Ana goes to work - no choice - in her older sister's dress assembly factory. The sister, Estela (Ingrid Oliu), is always short of cash to meet the payroll and expenses as she puts together for $18 each dresses that will sell in haute couture boutiques for $600 (to Ana's politically correct astonishment). Estela is proud of her work and her factory where she employs Carmen and other Latina women who enjoy a ribald and close friendship. The relationship between Ana and Estela grows as the younger woman begins to understand her sister's pride.

Ana has a boyfriend, an Anglo from an affluent family, but director Patricia Cardoso wisely omits any "West Side Story" clash of cultures to focus on the very believable first love experience of a girl raised, as so many young American women are, to hate their bodies if they don't conform to the Cosmo cover model standard.

Ana matures as the story progresses and the relationships between the family members and among the dress factory workers deepen beautifully. Carmen is a problem. Her treatment of Ana is mean, actually abusive. Taking a page from the stereotypical Jewish mom she manufactures symptoms of many diseases with the acting out passion only possible by a person who will see her hundreth birthday. She's not likeable and yet her cruelty is a projection rather than a mask of her deep love for Ana and the family.

Ana and Carmen are characters that could easily have been played as caricature and that invite overacting. Neither happens. The skill of the leading actresses and the firm vision of the director produce believable women at generational loggerheads.

I have rarely been in so engaged an audience as I was today at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema. Sighs, laughs, groans, applause at various points - it seemed like this was supposed to be an interactive screening. Everyone walked out smiling.

Ana and her family are Mexican born or Mexican Americans but the depth of this film goes beyond any ethnic association. Where "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" celebrated the characters' ancestry, "Real Women Have Curves" pays homage to the inner strength and genuine beauty of - women! Ethnicity and thinness be damned!

10/10.