Y tu Mama Tambien (Spanish for “And Your Mother, Too”) tells the story of two teenage boys — one rich, one middle class — and their adventure with an older woman. It involves sex, nudity and explicit dialogue. Had it been made in Hollywood — with a typical Hollywood script — its target audience would be 18-24 year old males and it would be critically panned almost unanimously. But because it is a Mexican film, with an intelligent script, and a serious disregard for the MPAA and the inherent limitations involved with getting distribution with an NC17 rating, Y tu Mama Tambien can tell its story without distorting into an immature giggle fest.
Tenoch (Gale Garcia Bernal) and Julio (Diego Luna), fresh from watching their girlfriends depart to Italy for the summer, meet Luisa (Maribel Verdu), a very attractive older woman, at a relative’s wedding. When Luisa says she likes the beach, the two boys construct an elaborate story about their forthcoming trip to Boca del Cielo (Heaven’s Mouth), a secluded beach that doesn’t really exist. They invite Luisa to join them, but she politely declines. A few days later, after Luisa discovers her husband is sleeping with another woman, she calls the boys to take them up on their offer. Tenoch and Julio scramble to arrange the trip to a destination that does not exist. Along the way, Luisa, Julio and Tenoch discuss life, friends and, most importantly, sex. While the boys may be plotting ways to have sex with Luisa, she has a few plans of her own for the boys.
Taken at face value, Y tu Mama Tambien might sound like it should be promoted as something “from the makers of Porky’s II,” but that’s not the case at all. Director and co-writer Alfonso Cuaron has injected more subtlety, intelligence and wit into this film than any recent (or not so recent) American teenage sex film has ever possessed. Ever expect to come out of American Pie pondering life? I didn’t think so. You will definitely mull over Y tu Mama Tambien for a while after exiting the theater. By making and releasing the film outside the mainstream American market, Cuaron was able to make a mature film that doesn’t have to shy away from showing how teenage boys actually talk and act.
All of this does not, however, make Y tu Mama Tambien a great film. It’s a good movie, no doubt about it, but I think that many critics and art-house movie goers have heaped praise on it because it’s nothing like the adolescent sexual tripe that Hollywood has churned out since the late 1970s. Still, it has problems. While the dialogue is excellent, the story doesn’t quite stay focused. The comments regarding the divisions between the poor and the rich in Mexico and Mexican politics (politics in general, actually) are ill-advised and seem out of place within the frame work of an otherwise entertaining film.
Don’t see Y tu Mama Tambien expecting a life-changing experience. Do, however, see it with an open mind and with the intention of being entertained by its unique viewpoints on life and sex. You won’t be disappointed.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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