Simply Perfect

Sick Product of a Sick System

Memorable, crazy movie

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Ana Garcia (America Ferrera) is frustrated by her mother (Lupe Ontiveros) who demands her to work for her sister at their garment factory. Her teacher Mr. Guzman (George Lopez) wants her to go to college. Her father is more sympathetic. Jimmy from school likes her.While I appreciate the family drama, I really don't like either the mother or the daughter. Ana is too angry, too bitter and too whiny. The mother is too angry, too bitter and too whiny. They are definitely related. On top of that, the story layers on some body issues. Also some of the story feels unnatural. Her mother's claim of pregnant feels weird. Even if it's inspired by a true story, it doesn't feel necessary. What shines through are the two lead actresses. America Ferrera gets her big break and Lupe Ontiveros is charismatic.

I did like this film. It was a strong character driven story. The relationships with the women were very compelling. I could believe what I was seeing on screen for the most part and was able to start caring in what was happening from the beginning. I enjoyed the back and forth with Ana and her mother. I don't think it was over done in the telling of it. I heard in the director's commentary that the director was worried that the mother might have been played too heavy handed, but I think it work out fairly well.I particularly cared for the unresolved conclusions at the end of the picture, it was refreshing in how no punches were pulled. I think it was a very brave move. Overall all the women roles were strong, where the story suffered was the male roles were a little weak, everyone except the male teacher could have been played better. The dialogue with the boyfriend felt empty and wanting, there was no chemistry there or even a curious connection. The thought that anything happened there leaps a great chasm of disbelief. As far as the father and grandfather were concerned I thought that they were merely place holders. And sadly so because I felt nothing. The film never fleshed that relationship out and likewise was insufficient reason for Ana to stay in LA. This was a major flaw in the story, the fact that there were not enough reasons why Ana should stay where she was.

The movie Real Women Have Curves starring America Ferrera is a moving and authentic look at the pressures pulling on Mexican immigrants as well as many overweight Americans. The movie shows us Ana Garcia's life during the summer after she graduates high school. Ana goes to work in her sister's dressmaking factory for the summer while she deals with applying to Columbia University, her overbearing mother and her new boyfriend. All these elements are boiled together in a broth of cultural and generational divide. Ana not only deals with a cultural gap wrenching her on both sides; one to her Mexican heritage, the other to fitting in to American ways of life but also with the generational gap common to all children and their parents. Ana's mother takes out the frustration of her older daughter's singleness on Ana and pressures her to lose weight so that she might better attract a husband. Yet Ana's life still transforms from one with little self esteem and self respect to one full of confidence and optimism for the future.As Ana's boyfriend boosts her confidence she simultaneously comes to realize how hard her family works, and how much they love her. Therefore the viewer is carried along with Ana as she overcomes her fears and successfully bridges the gap between her and her mother whilst also spanning the gap between Mexican culture and American Culture. Ana eventually overcomes her negative self image and recognizes herself as a beautiful person and realizes that every body is beautiful in and of itself. Ana's journey brings the viewer to confront their own stereotypes and misunderstandings about culture and weight. After watching this film the way we view people in America is proved to be misguided, everyone can learn from Ana's passage from self doubt to self respect.Along the way we meet many characters who impact Ana's life in one way or another, some positively, some negatively. Each character has a purpose and proves that the way we view and treat others makes a difference whether we realize it or not. Real Women Have Curves is a very good movie for making us challenge what the media will have us believe, for giving us some food for thought and making us laugh a little on our way.This is an excellent movie that I would recommend for all teenagers and adults regardless of background or beliefs because it gives the viewer access to a perspective other than their own.

*** May contain spoilers. *** Sad to say, the lead character of REAL WOMAN HAVE CURVES, Ana, was ungrateful, disrespectful, inconsiderate and completely self-centered to the point of being utterly unlikable. Early in the film, Ana gives her teacher a gift in such a condescending and flip-off manner, that any normal adult would say good riddance and avoid her at all cost in the future.The rest of the movie is an endless series of encounters between Ana and assorted adults in which she rudely treats her elders with contempt and disdain. In Ana's world, no one ever deserves the privilege to speak except for her and her teen boy pal. Unappreciative Ana glares down at the lowly adults within her range with scorn and repugnance. Ana, the all superior one -- all hail Ana! A more interesting movie would be to eject stuck-up Ana and simply tell the story of the adults struggling to make a living having seen their healthiest days long ago.