Love Imitates Art in Barboza's "Cry Now"

Movie Review: Cry Now

Director: Alberto Barboza

Screenplay: Alberto Barboza

Stars: Miguel Angel Caballero, Iliana Carter, Mina Olivera Sal Lopez, Lupe Ontiveros

I love indie films. They are the last refuge for the true film auteur; personal visions and statements crystallized into little creative, often quirky, cinematic gems. Filmmakers like John Cassavetes, the Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant, Jim Jarmusch, John Sayles and Amy Heckerling, to name a few, have left their distinctive mark on film. Their films are distinguished by the emphasis on story, character, plot and authenticity, not flash ‘n bang or shock ‘n awe CGI special effects.

“Writers are the most important people in Hollywood...and the bastards must never find out!” – Irving Thalberg

However, sometimes in their quest for realism, cinéma-vérité or authenticity, the script, the written word is abandoned in favor of improvised or ad-libbed dialog and scenes that drag on too long. So, a well-written, structed indie film with a personal vision is a plus for me. Cry Now, written and directed by Alberto Barboza, is a pleasure on many levels.

Vincent (Miguel Angel Caballero) is a young silkscreen artist who designs and produces posters with complex, intricate images that he plasters on public walls. At a chance meeting in a night club, Vincent encounters Luzy (Iliana Carter) a beautiful tattoo artist. They share a brief dance. It’s just a moment, but the chemistry between the two is immediate, undeniable and electric.

There are, of course, complications. It wouldn’t be a good love story if there weren’t complications, right? Complication-free romances are not only rare, but boring.

Luzy has a boyfriend, who’s a cop. Not only that, but her cop boyfriend put up $20K for her to open her own tattoo shop. So, she’s emotionally and financially in debt to him.

Vincent is in a faltering relationship he feels is over, but his possessive girlfriend, Sofia, (Mina Olivera) has other ideas. A wise man once said: “It takes more strength to let go than it does to hold on.” That wise man, is me, but it does apply to Sofia. She runs a day care center and is an artist in her own right too.

At first glance, Cry Now, is a classic boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl romance. But writer / director Barboza has elevated this hip, stylish, urban, Chicano romance with his smart, urbane, well-crafted script.

Cry Now is set in the culturally rich Chicano environment of East LA. A world of Mexican-inspired music, dancing and more tequila shots than you can shake a piñata stick at. It’s a world where English and Spanish are spoken interchangeably, often simultaneously, with humor, wisdom and supple grace. And it’s the spoken word, the dialog, Barbosa’s masterful use and reverence for the writer’s craft that sets Cry Now apart.

When Vincent and Luzy first meet, the energy, the interplay is straight out of a Bogart and Bacall movie. Their dialog is playful, mocking, philosophical, teasing, sensual, kinetic. Vincent is instantly drawn to the alluring, mysterious tatted up tattoo artist. Luzy, for her part, recognizes despite the mutual attraction, trouble lies ahead.

But they never speak to each other in direct, straight forward terms. Their language is always oblique, implied not explicit. It calls to mind a billiard bank shot. The cue is not struck directly at a billiard ball, but banked off the rails to make contact. Luzy is also skillful pool player.

In one scene Vincent says to Luzy: “I’m really feeling you right now. If you want me to stop, you need to stop looking at me that way.”

It’s a line right out of a Raymond Chandler novel. All the characters in Barbosa’s brilliant screenplay speak that way. Barboza also uses art as a subtext and a supporting player throughout the film.

At one point, a vengeful, jealous Sofia steals some of Vincent’s drawings, pins them on the walls of her day care center, stages a phony act of vandalism allegedly to terrorize her young charges with Vincent’s disturbing artwork. She reports it to the police. Sofia then appears on TV holding up a very good sketch she drew of the suspect. It’s, of course, a drawing of Vincent.

Well, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Pero sin duda, hell hath no fury like a Latina woman scorned. Exhibit A: Lorena Bobbitt. I rest my case, Your Honor. But, in Sophia’s defense, her wrath is nicely underscored with pathos and vulnerability well portrayed by Mina Olivera.

There are also some very good performances by veteran character actors Sal Lopez as Lobo and the late, great Lupe Ontiveros as his sister, Rosario. The movie is also filled with Latino make-you-wanna-dance. drink and cry musical score.

Scientists have revealed to us the laws of physics and explained the bits and pieces of atoms that make up everything in the universe. Philosophers drone on drearily about reason, morality and logic. But only artists dare to explore the eternal mysteries of the human heart.

Oddly enough, Vincent and Luzy never utter the word “love” to each other. Like George Harrison’s classic song Something, Alberto Barboza uses artful language to paint images that tell a truly romantic story without having to say “I love you.”. A story, in Barboza’s capable hands, where love imitates art.

¡Un brindis de tequila para Barboza y su pelicula!

It Makes Sense to Watch Latin Heat Cinema

Here are just 10 reasons why you should watch Common Sense Mamita on Latin Heat Cinema.

1. She's hotter than Dr. Phil. Hey! She's a Latina!
2. Gives uncommonly sensible guidance and help.
3. In the Age of Trump, Mamita is the voice of reason.
4. The "Most Interesting Man in The World" finds her fascinating.
5. Her counseling is handier than a Swiss Army Knife.
6. Dr. Ruth watches her show and takes notes.
7. She's as medicinal as a bowl of menudo for a hangover.
8. Mamita is the spicy ingredient in sage advice.
9. Her show is on Latin Heat Cinema.
10. Did I mention she's hotter than Dr. Phil and a Latina?

"Dirty Cues" Serves Up The Laughs

Every time I see the opening scene of The Poseidon Adventure with the late, great comic actor, Leslie Nielsen, at the helm, I think to myself, “Please turn this fine, serious disaster film into a silly spoof of a disaster movie like Airplane! You’ve already got Leslie Nielsen in the cast for goodness sake.”

Comedy is hard to do. Good comedy is even harder to do. It isn’t enough to write funny jokes or lines. Delivering those droll lines with the right flair and comedic timing is a much-underappreciated acting art form. Just ask Cary Grant His classy performances in countless, memorable light comedies was never acknowledged with an Oscar.

Leslie Nielsen, the once serious actor became the master of deadpan, comic acting. As Lt. Frank Drebin in Police Squad, Nielsen delivered his lines with all the thespian gravitas of Laurence Oliver performing a soliloquy from Hamlet, with hilarious results.

The synopsis of Dirty Cues, a new web series on Latin Heat Cinema’s growing menu of diverse, entertaining, streaming attractions offered on Latin Heat Entertainment. reads: When a Colombian cartel starts laundering money through Spanglish movies in Hollywood, a rookie FBI agent must play the role of a lifetime.” Oh no!” I once again thought to myself, “Not another violent, bloody, melodrama about a drug cartel. I’ve already seen La reina del sur four times. Loved it and especially loved Kate del Castillo. But enough already!”

Well, truth be told, I can’t get enough of Kate del Castillo. But that’s a topic for another article.

Back to Dirty Cues. Thankfully and happily, Susie Lohse and César Camiño, the creators of this original web series, are taking a smart, campy, and very funny look at a very troubling and topical subject; money laundering by drug cartels in the USA.

Javie, a Colombian narco trafficante, is running a Spanglish language movie studio in Hollywood as a money laundering operation for his drug kingpin boss. Javie’s studio turns out Spanglish movie knockoffs for the Hispanic community. Example: Fifty Shades of Gray is re-packaged as Fifty Shades of Azul. In addition to the usual headaches a studio boss deals with, Javie’s ditzy, trophy wife, Mazy, wants to have a baby. Problem is, this Latino Lothario’s equally ditzy mistress, Cherry, is also very demanding of his personal “attention.”

In one amusing moment, Cherry confronts Javie on his lack of fidelity to their extra-marital affair.

“I’m faithful to you Javie,” she whines pitifully, “But I know you are not faithful to me.”

Javie protests innocently: “Cherry, I’m married.”

Meanwhile, a rookie FBI agent, Daniel, has infiltrated the studio posing as a cameraman. He becomes smitten with a struggling screenwriter, Anya. Daniel’s partner, Edith, a veteran FBI agent, cautions Daniel not to get involved. Ignoring her own advice, Edith accidently finds herself in the middle of a scene rehearsal and reads for a part. She gets the acting bug and later confides to Daniel:

“I’m an agent in need of an agent. I gotta get some representation.”

Travis, the studio enforcer who is suspicious of Daniel and thinks he might be a mole, warns him with pitch-perfect, icy, cold-blooded menace:

“I’ll be watching you like a pedophile in a Chucky Cheese.”

What a great line! Wish I’d written it.

Dirty Cues’ short episodes are, without exception, laced with witty repartee, goofy gags, raunchy double entendres and clever, cultural references. In tone and tenor, Dirty Cues has many similarities with the old Comedy Central cop show spoof, Reno 911, which was a personal favorite of mine. Dirty Cues is a highly watchable, madcap romp with some zany characters through the world of drug cartels by way of Hollywood. Kudos to creators, Susie Lohse and César Camiño

Let’s face it kids, we will need all the laughter we can get the next four years. Thanks to Latin Heat Cinama, Dirty Cues will serve up more than its fair share of welcome comic relief. Somewhere, I’m sure Leslie Nielsen is watching Dirty Cues and chuckling with delight, approval and pride.

Watch Dirty Cues, along with Leslie, on Latin Heat Cinema.

Close "Encounters" of the Brief Kind

My father died this past June. Sadly, we had a diffuclt relationship and never communicated on a meaningful level. Even during his decline, when I spent a lot of time with him, we did not become closer. However, towards the end of his life, he revealed a long-kept family secret. He off-handledly remarked in a moment of weakness, that he had fathered a daughter out-of-wedlock. A daughter whose existence had been swept under the family carpet for sixty years.. I had a half-sister!

I found my half-sister a few days before Dad passed away. Unfortunately, I was not at his bedside when he died quietly in his sleep. in his home with family and friends around him. But he left us with so many unanswered questions. So many things I wanted to find out from a father, who I apparently, didn't know at all.

I wonder how one last conversation with my father might have gone after he had passed to the other side.

My situation is not unique. As a matter of fact, I've found out that it is more common than people like to acknwledge

Miguel Torres, the creator of the award-winning web series Encounters, has fashioned a powerful, dramatic storytelling platform to explore those haunting questions. Torres, like a latter-day Hispanic Rod Serling of Twilight Zone classic TV fame, outlines the premise of Encounters in the series trailer, as well at the beginning of each episode.

The Encounters episodes, produced by Angel Flight Media and True Form Films, are short teleplays,

vignettes, snapshots, beautifully composed in a cinéma vérité style. The acting is understated and restrained. And despite the supernatural theme of the stories in Encountgers (conversations with the dearly departed) the productions are totally devoid of eerie special effects or CGI magic. This conscience decision to shun artifice in favor of strong storytelling is the emotional foundation of Encounters. All these elements come together nicely in my favorite episode to date titled: The Moment Between the Lights.

In this story of guilt following a night of drinking and driving, director Chris Banda masterfully uses the natural, nighttime, film noir atmospherics of LA to frame this dark, moody meditation. Two young friends drive around at night, talking. One of them is responsible for the death of the other. During the course of this 11 minute play, the dialog shifts from wistful, boyhood nostalgia, personal regrets, anger, accusations and finally, forgiveness.

I identified so much with this particular episode, I sent the link to my best friend. We had spent many a night in our long ago youth driving around downtown San Jose. Luckily for us, without the same tragic results.

Encounters is an almost entirely Hispanic enterprise; production, writers, directors, cast, crew. All the brief teleplays take place within the context of the Latino community. However, the Latino culture and occasional use of Spanish in the dialog, is just the backdrop for the universally recognizable themes that resonate in every culture. Encounters examines tough subject matter like sexual abuse, suicide and a mother's guilt over the death of her child, without lapsing into melodrama or arch, soap opera theatrics.

Encounters has opened up a personal Pandora's Box of possible conversations with the people involved in  the family secret of my half-sister; my father, my sister's mother, our grandmother, and other family elders who managed to keep secrets better than the US government. They're all gone. They have so much 'splaining to do.

Watching Encounters can sometimes be a disturbing experience, but ultimately, it's a cathartic one because the compelling stories help us realize we are not alone.

You can encounter Encounters, as well as other fascinating web streaming features, on Latin Heat Cnema within the web pages of Latin Heat Entertainment online magazine.

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A Successful Disaster Film

Movie Review: Deepwater horizon
Director: Peter Berg
Screenplay: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Matthew Sand
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez
Genre: disaster, action / adventure
Country: USA

Here in San Antonio, gas prices are $2 a gallon. Life is good. The world may be going to hell in a deplorable hand-basket, but if gas is cheap, life is good.

Gasoline is like pork chops. When you buy pork chops at the grocery store, you never fully imagine the horrors the unfortunate Porky Pig went through before ending up in a frying pan.

It's the same with gasoline. Gas just magically appeasers at the gas pump. Pop in the nozzle. Fill it up. Go inside the 7-Eleven, grab a bag of spicy Cheetos, a handful of Slim Jim's, a Big Gulp, swipe your credit card. Presto! You're ready for San Antonio traffic jams and a two hour commute home.

But, of course, the process of drilling for oil is a complicated, enormous undertaking fraught with life-threatening perils. The story of the hard-working people who labor on off-shore oil rigs, so we can fill up our SUV's, is brought to explosive, flaming life in Deepwater Horizon.

On April 20, 2011, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, located in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded killing eleven workers. The resulting oil spill was the largest in history. The US government estimated that 210 million gallons of oil spewed into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico causing unimaginable, wide-spread devastation to the environment, wetlands, beaches and wildlife. After 87 days of continuous oil discharge, the well was reportedly sealed.

Deepwater Horizon is Hollywood's latest offspring from it's very successful pedigree of “disaster” films. The disaster film formula is simple. Take a disaster, any disaster: earthquake, flood, volcano eruption, fire, the Trump presidential campaign. Toss in an ensemble cast of character actors along with spectacular special effects, stir for a couple of hours and viola; instant summer blockbuster!

As a disaster film, there's much to like about Deepwater Horizon.

You can't argue with the cast headed by veteran action / adventure stars Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell. Wahlberg, as Mike Williams, gives another steady, believable performance as a blue-color “everyman” who finds himself becoming a hero in a horrific situation.

Kurt Russell. Well, Kurt Russell is, and will always be in my mind, Snake Plisken. 'nuff said. Russell is one of those rare Hollywood actors who has successfully made the rite-pf-passage from child actor in Disney movies to adult roles in every conceivable genre. Now, Russell is transitioning nicely into more mature roles. The guy can do it all and has proven it over a long career.

As a contributor to Latin Heat Entertainment, I was hoping to write more about Gina Rodriguez' role as Andrea, the oil rig control center operator. The Hollywood Reporter named Rodriguez “the next big thing” and one of the top “35 Latinas under the age of 35.” She's received kudos for her performances in the CW's Jane the Virgin, and her star turn in the indie film, Filly Brown. Rodriguez breathes grit and heart into her supporting role in Deepwater Horizon. Certainly, we'll be seeing a lot more of Gina Rodriguez in larger parts in feature films.

In the opening scene of Deepwater Horizon, director Peter Berg builds the suspense gradually with a warm, loving sequence of domestic interplay between Mike, his wife and daughter. But Berg sets off the ticking time mob when Mike arrives on the job and senses that things are not quite right.

Like many disaster films (The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno, and Titanic), the plot fuse is lit because of cost-cutting measures or reckless disregard for safety in order to maximize profits; actions that invariable result in tragic consequences.

The fiery destruction scenes in Deepwater Horizon are well-staged, riveting, thrilling, laced with authentic humanity, bravery and grace under fire and yes...explosive!

Deepwater Horizon could have easily worked as a horror film. Who can forget those sickening, nightly underwater images of gigantic, billowing clouds of oil endlessly gushing out into the sea? Who can forget the gut-wrenching newsreel footage of dead dolphins floating in the water and oil-soaked sea birds on the gulf shores? And who can forget British Petroleum (BP), the greedy, corporate, "mad scientists" who created this monster?

Ironically, it's science fiction and monster movies that often serve as cautionary tales of human excess and hubris. Films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Planet of the Apes are fanciful yarns wrapped up inside a morality fable that often left us with uneasy, unanswered questions. Remember how many of those old, great science fiction flicks ended with: THE END?

Deepwater Horizon points an accusatory finger at BP, but chooses not to prosecute the case directly. It was a creative and economic choice. Message films tend to flop at the box office.

But Deepwater Horizon succeeds as a story of personal heroism, courage and the triumph over adversity in the face of a calamity of epic proportions. It's a compelling and contemporary story given the current debate this country is having over “drill, baby drill” and the quest for clean energy.

However, it must be noted that since that catastrophic 2011 event, many new off-shore oil drilling platforms are being planned to operate in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the Deepwater Horizon oil well being officially listed as dead and sealed, oil continues to leak into the Gulf. THE END?

Wanted: Latino Movie Heroes

“Hollywood, I know your middle name. Who inspires your fabled fools?---Steely Dan

I recently saw 300 again for the 300^th time. Never get tired watching a handful of Spartan warriors hold off Xerxes million man army's march on Greece. But, have you noticed all the actors in Hollywood movies about the ancient Romans, Greeks, or Egyptians, have pale skin, bad teeth and sound like Richard Burton or James Mason?

The actress who plays the Greek Spartan queen in 300 didn't sound a bit like Ariana Huffington.

Hollywood has an ethnic authenticity problem when casting movies and deciding which ethnic groups are marketable as heroes. Consider the original 1960 western, The Magnificent Seven and the 2016 remake now screening everywhere.

Now to be cinematically accurate, The Magnificent Seven is a retelling of legendary Japanese filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. So when it was proposed to produce Kurosawa's classic into an American western, Hollywood studio moguls scratched their heads quizzically:

“Is the American public going to buy a bunch of Japanese actors playing American cowboys?”

“Why not?”, asked Ricardo Montalbán, “I was a Japanese kabuki performer in Sayonara.”

Predictably, the 1960 version of The Magnificent Seven (which I love) centers around a village of poor, hapless Mexican farmers constantly being raided and robbed by local bandidos. They raise enough money to hire seven Anglo gunslingers to defend them. All well and good. Besides, who doesn't love Elmer Bernstein's stirring musical score? Director John Sturges uses William Roberts' screenplay to paint complex portraits of the seven gunslingers as morally conflicted anti-heroes.

However, from a Latino perspective, the question is why did these Mexican villagers require the services of gringo gunfighters? Another White Man's Burden subtext?

The Mexican army that kicked French Army ass at The Battle of Puebla and formed the revolutionary guerreros of Zapata and Villa came from that very same Mexican, peasant, village stock. In films like Dances with Wolves, Apocalypse Now!, and The Last Samurai, it's always an Anglo-American teaching an established warrior class of people how to do it better; the right way...the white way.

Even the jefe of the Mexican bandits is played by venerable, non-Hispanic character actor, Eli Wallach. Nothing against Wallach. He's convincingly menacing as Calvera, the cruel, ruthless bandit chief. Wallach also portrays another memorable Mexican baddie in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Wallach delivers a bravura, campy, tour de force performance as the Mexican “ugly” Tuco. Question: Why is the Mexican “the ugly”? Was Gilbert Roland busy? With Roland as Tuco, the movie would become "The Good, The Bad, y El Guapo.

So, I had an ethnic-miscasting chip (frito?) on my shoulder watching the new, 2016 version of The Magnificent Seven. Denzel Washington's appearance in the film was another issue. Washington starred in the totally unrecognizable, awful 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate. Denzel, regrettably, goes 0 for 2 with another cinematic whiff.

Similar plot; Poor farmers in small town are terrorized by a murderous, greedy, robber baron. But this time, the farmers are white folks. One brave woman employs the seven gunfighters. Immediately, I thought to myself, “She could have saved a lot of money by hiring seven undocumented Mexican pistoleros to do the same job.”

I mentally visualized the epic gun battles musically scored with Latino rockers, Del Castillo, under the direction of Robert Rodriguez.

Another disappointing feature of this latest incarnation is that its less an homage to the vision, spirit and heart of Kurosawa and Sturges, but instead a wink and nod to Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. Unlike the psychically damaged swordsmen / gunmen in the Kurosawa / Sturges masterpieces, these Seven are essentially one-dimensional, cardboard cut+out superheros. This movie could easily have been titled: The Fantastic Four Plus Three = Seven.

The climatic shoot-out set piece is a chaotic, drawn out sequence replete with pistols, rifles and even a Gatling gun blazing away, mowing down everybody and everything in sight. The town is reduced to a pile of splintered wood, shattered glass and dead people littering the street. The Marvelous Fantastic Seven save the town, but destroy it in the process. No worries. In the upcoming sequel, Los siete magnificos, the women folk recruit seven hunky Chicano janitors to clean up the mess.

“Excuse me, Tomas. Can I call you Tommy? Excuse me Tommy, when you finish sweeping up the street, can you come to my house and clean my pool? It's so hot and I want to wear my bikini.”

“¡Oh claro que si señorita!”

How come Hollywood doesn't use an all Latino cast to remake traditionally all-white stories? The Wizard of Oz was successfully redone with an all African-American cast (The Wiz). Why not an all Hispanic re imagining of Nicholas and Alexandra, and the epic sage of the Russian Revolution?

Let's see. How 'bout...

NICO Y LEXIE

George Lopez as Czar Nico

Sofia Vargara as Czarina Lexie

Act I

Czar Nico

Apurate vieja. We'll be late for the Grand Ball. I hired Fito Olivares to play cumbia music. Vamos a bailar toda la noche.

Czarina Lexie

Oh no, mis pies me están matando.”

 

I'll have the script to Robert Rodriguez ASAP.

The Two Chirping Chicanas and I

Movie Review: No manches Frida

Director: Nacho G. Valilla

Screenplay: Laurence Rosenthal, Claudio Herrera, Sergio Adrian Sanchez

Stars: Omar Chapparo, Martha Higareda, Monica Dionne

Country: Mexico

Language: Spanish with English subtitles

I love Netflix and Hulu. Whenever I watch a movie on my huge, flat-screen, HD TV, I recreate the art house, cinema experience by drawing the drapes and turning off the lights. Bergman (ingmar, not Ingrid) observed that sitting in a darkened movie theater, watching the flickering images on the screen while suspending disbelief for a couple of hours is the closest conscious experience to the sleeping dream-state.

So, the other day, I got out of my recliner, temporarily terminated my binge watching of La reina del sur on Netflix, and headed for the Santikos Mayan Palace cineplex to see No manches Frida.

Initially, I was the only person attending the Tuesday, 2:10 PM matinee. But just before the movie started, two Chicana ladies sat a few rows behind me and began chirping away in Spanish. My first thought was, “Oh no, my conscious dream-state movie experience is going to have non-stop play-by-play commentary in Spanish.”

Flashback...

Years ago, I went to a matinee screening of Like Water for Chocolate. Seated behind me were two Latina ladies chatting in Spanish. One of them had obviously already seen the film and was prompting the other lady on what to expect as a scene unfolded. Just before one particularly “revealing” scene, she whispered, “Este es la parte en que ella salta de la ducha desnuda y se sube en su caballo y aleja como una loca.”

Fortunately, as the opening credits rolled and No manches Frida began, the pitter-patter subsided and the two chirping Chicanas and I sat quietly, respectfully, our cell phones turned off and enjoyed the show.

No manches Frida is a very well-crafted, well-acted comedy that artfully combines the classic fish-out-of-water and unconventional, inspirational teacher v. unruly classroom motifs. We've seen variations of this popular theme in films like Goodbye, Mr. Chips, To Sir, with Love and Stand and Deliver. Not to mention popular TV shows like Welcome Back, Kotter and Room 222.

The basic plot: A thief recently released from prison named Sequi, (Omar Chapparo) tries to recover stolen money his ditzy girlfriend buried for him. Problem is, she buried the loot on the campus of a school named after the famous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. During his imprisonment, a gymnasium was built over the burial site.

Sequi scams a job as a substitute teacher in order to access the gymnasium and dig up his ill-gotten pesos. However, as the story progresses, Sequi finds himself crossing the threshold over from greedy thief to caring teacher.

Under the capable direction of Nacho G. Valilla, No manches Frida reminds me of classic Hollywood screwball comedies with its rapid-fire dialog, repartee, and sexual double entendres. The screenwriters also make good use of that most uniquely, versatile and eloquent Mexican word: CHINGAR.

Noted Mexican linguist, Pilar Montes de Oca, catalogs in her scholarly, must-read book El Chinganario, over 180 colorful and commonly spoken phrases spiced with every conceivable variation of “chingar.” I know for a fact there are at least 180 because I grew up hearing my abuela Juanita employ them on a daily basis. The characters in No manches Frida use them to great comedic effect. The two chirping Chicanas and I laughed hysterically whenever they were uttered. The bespectacled, bookish, school marm, Lucy, (Martha Higareda) rattles off a couple of good ones with girlish glee.

All three principle actors give first rate performances.

• Omar Chapparo is engaging as Sequi, the street-wise ladron who cons his way into the school then finds himself emotionally and romantically drawn into the world of a substitute teacher.

• Martha Higareda is a charming and vulnerable presence as Lucy, the earnest, do-gooder teacher who is instantly attracted to bad boy Sequi and his off-beat teaching methods.

• Monica Dionne does a nice turn as Miss Gaby, the tough as nails school administrator with a heart of gold.

Director Valilla's No manches Frida is a fast-paced, raucous, often raunchy comedy filled with laughs, slapstick humor, great music and highly likable characters. At its heart though, No manches Frida is a story of transformation and redemption. In his quest to recover buried treasure, Sequi discovers inner personal “treasures” that money...stolen or otherwise...can't buy.

No manches Frida is a thoroughly fun-filled narrative ride. I can report unequivocally that the two chirping Chicanas and I give No manches Frida:

¡DOS PULGARES ARRIBA!