cheriberry Reviews

Dear Frankie (2004)

Emotionally manipulative, and I DID mind!

[4/10 · 5 June 2004]

With a good germ of an idea for a decent movie, containing an interesting little twist on a somewhat unoriginal and overused plot line, this small movie went terribly wrong with its manipulative and cloying approach to its subject matter. Too much behavior was unmotivated and thus not believable, and too many directing choices were way too emotionally obvious and thus killed any honest emotional response -- from me at least. I wanted to like this movie. Really, I did. And I was enjoying some of the acting performances. But it seemed like at every turn I felt the unwarranted manipulation until I finally started to rebel.

Too bad, because the starting point was hopeful enough. Note to all fledgling writers and directors: Don't be obvious. Emotional restraint is always preferable. Less is more.

The Notebook (2004)

Not a great film, but a good one

[8/10 · 5 June 2004]

If you've been waiting for a well-told weepy romantic story, your prayers have been answered. As others have noted here, you will need to bring a large stack of Kleenex to this one. Which is not usually my type of film, but there is an abundance of talent on display in this one, both in front of and behind the camera, and that keeps it honest and enjoyable. Never manipulative, never cloying, it's a good old-fashioned time at the movies.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams are both wonderful in the lead roles. Him I knew, and he is again quite fabulous. Her I was not familiar with, but she is equally fabulous here. Together they are as winning a young couple as you're likely to find on the screen these days. And of course the old pros, Gena Rowlands and James Garner, hold up their end of the bargain in fine style. And the supporting roles, in what could have been horrible caricatures, are done beautifully by some very fine actors. Both the screenplay and the direction are restrained and first-rate.

Grab your tissues along with grandma and grandpa, and go see this one.

And Your Mother Too (2001)

Somebody didn't watch the film

[10/10 · 23 March 2004]

"... and her love for life which she values more than the two main characters who just want to get into her pants."

Say what? Were you watching the film? Then you will recall that it was Luisa who boldly seduced the two boys, not the other way around. Yes the hormone-enraged boys were horny, but left to their own devices, the two adolescent braggarts wouldn't have gotten to first base with her. While the boys loved to talk (and talk and talk) about their immature sexual exploits, Luisa was very much the sexual aggressor on this trip. Sure she was memorable, but the boys were the heart and soul of this movie. I cared about them both from beginning to end, remembering well what that stage of life was like.

And Your Mother Too (2001)

Simply The Best!

[10/10 · 18 January 2004]

From the recent comments on this film board, it's amazing how people can watch this film all the way through and at the end not have any idea what it was about.

This was quite simply one of the best films I've seen in recent years. Using three central characters -- two immature adolescent males and a young woman in crisis -- set in a road-trip situation, it was hardly a road-trip movie. Nor was it an adolescent movie. Nor was it a woman-in-crisis movie. Nor was it about sex. Instead, what starts out with a sizzling but ditzy prologue becomes something much deeper and much more profound as it goes along. By the end I was breathless and somewhat stunned. The character study is amazing. The societal insights are haunting. The shared humanity it exposes is painful at time but ultimately reaffirming and uplifting. These are three of the most memorable, identifiable and completely human characters I've seen on screen in ages. They taught me more about life and the human species than the last ten movies I've seen put together. I'll not soon forget Julio, Tenoch and Luisa and their eye-opening journey to Boca del Cielo.

And Your Mother Too (2001)

93% Positive Reviews -- Well deserved!

[10/10 · 21 August 2003]

In checking the Rotten Tomatoes website, where they compile all the reviews for all the films, I see Y Tu Mamá También ended up with 93% positive reviews. That's amazing, and puts it in the top echelon of positive reviews on that site from all the critics, both major and minor. One of the best reviewed movies ever on the site. All I can say is that the 93% positive is well deserved.

This movie was awesome. Thank God most people (critics are people too!) recognize that. See it and enjoy fantastic acting and an original telling from a place you may not be that familiar with. I wish I could see a dozen more movies each year as fresh, spontaneous and honest as this one, and a dozen less of the mind-numbing sequels that seem to bombard us with increasing frequency. Bravo to all concerned -- and their mothers, too!

And Your Mother Too (2001)

What an excellent roadtrip!

[10/10 · 4 February 2003]

As mentioned by other more insightful posters below, those who grasp this film at the "vulgar, moronic schoolboys" level are shallow in the extreme. Either that or they weren't listening (or watching) very hard. This is a wonderful Mexican movie about three of its people who learn a lifetime of lessons in one brief summer adventure. On the surface level there is much to enjoy with these three free spirits who learn that they are not so free after all. But lurking just below the surface, if you stop to look and listen, is a story of Mexican politics as well as a story of three human hearts being taken to a level of understanding they had not previously known.

This is a wonderful film: unique, insightful, funny, oh so honestly human, and with three superb acting performances. As someone else pointed out, if you're put off by frank sexuality, don't go. Fair warning. Otherwise, run don't walk to the nearest showing of Y Tu Mamá.