How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (2005)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Georgina Riedel

Writer:

Georgina Riedel (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Love and sex. Some things just get better with age.

Plot:

Three generations of women in a Mexican American family experience sexual awakenings over the course of a summer. |

Plot Keywords:

Character Name In Title

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Elizabeth Peña	...	Lolita
America Ferrera	...	Blanca
Lucy Gallardo	...	Dona Genoveva
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eliana Alexander	...	Nora
David Barrera	...	Sal's Uncle
Steven Bauer	...	Victor Reyes
Alek Carrera	...	Soap Opera Actor
Ana Cervantes	...	Doña Loda
Jorge Cervera	...	Don Pedro
Patricia De Leon	...	Soap Opera Actress
Marina Dena-Santo	...	Cuka
Alyssa Diaz	...	Rose
Ricki Lopez	...	Father Miguel
Leo Minaya	...	Sal
Alberto Montero	...	Freddie
Alberto Montero	...	Freddie
Ruben Moreno	...	Old Man
Rick Najera	...	Jose Luis
Marina Dena Santo	...	Cucka
Jane Sevilla	...	Carla
Perla Walters	...	Nena
Victor Wolf	...	Oswaldo

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content and some language.

Runtime:

Argentina:128 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) | USA:128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Way too long film about three generations of horny women

I had a chance to catch this much over-hyped film at the Arizona International Film Festival and I have to say it really left me wanting, that is wanting less.

On the positive side, the performances are fantastic. Pena delivers a great performance, America is a real force and the grandmother stole the show.

On the negative side, the the languid pacing became too much and makes the film way too long at over two hours. I found myself checking my watch way too many times. The cinematographer must have had little direction as some of cinematography was very nice, but most of it felt as though he really wanted people to take notice of his work. I took notice, many times when I shouldn't. Many times the characters occupied the edge of the screen, even cut off the edge. This cinematographer really wanted to say something and what it said to me was "I make home movies". Many people seem to blame the editor for the length whereas I point to the Director. She is supposed to have the vision and she's ultimately responsible for the editing. Overly-long, silent sex scenes, dialog so stiff that even the actors couldn't make it work and a good half-hour of excess peripheral story really make this film drag.

The sad thing is this movie could be a really nice film with above average performances and some genuinely funny moments, but poor decisions made by the filmmaker drag this film down into the muck of overly self-important art-house schlock.