Customer Reviews

Real Women Have Curves [VHS]

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this movie....it is exceptionally well acted, witty, with a smart and biting script. Though it's technically a "chick flick", I think men would enjoy it also (although maybe not admit that). I saw it on television and liked it so much I wanted to see the unedited version. You can never go wrong with a movie made by HBO, and is something that you will want to pull out of the drawer and watch again and again.

The director/screenwriter, Patricia Cardoso and the co-screenwriter George LaVoo of "Real Women have Curves," have devised a movie centering around some very fascinating subjects: how we perceive ourselves, how other's perceive us and the friction and or disparity between the two. At the center of this story is a proud, hard-working Mexican American family: mother Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros) and her youngest daughter Ana (America Ferrera). Ana is an honor student and valedictorian of her graduating high school class. Her dream is to accept her scholarship at Columbia University and to escape the narrow confines and thinking of her East Los Angeles neighborhood and family. But mother, Carmen has other ideas: Carmen wants Ana to forgo college for awhile and to work in Ana's sister's garment factory so as to help support the family.
On top of this, Carmen is continually nagging at Ana to lose weight. "How do you expect to find a husband and have children with all that weight on you?" Carmen asks Ana. It is to Cardoso's credit that Ana has a very positive body image and of course it doesn't hurt that America Ferrera is quite lovely and imbues Ana with a sort of fierce and dynamic determination that makes people stand up and take notice not because of her size but because of her mind.
On the surface Carmen's plans for Ana seem cruel and small minded but in reality it is a natural trait of first generation immigrants to place family about all else. Ontiveros plays Carmen not as an ogre but as a woman who fears for her daughter's safety in the outside world. What Carmen doesn't realize is that Ana has inherited her courage and presence of mind from her and her husband: Ana is a product, the physical manifestation of Carmen's wishes and dreams of a better life for her children and herself.
The set piece of "Real Women have Curves" is a scene in the garment factory when all the women, lead by Ana, decide to shed their clothing initially because of the heat. There is a palpable feeling of exaltation and release in this scene on several levels: "curvy" women not being embarrassed to disrobe and expose their bodies that becomes a universal call to all women to embrace their physical selves and to reject what society and our culture dictates as the female ideal. In essence, all females are ideal is what Cardoso is saying.
"Real Women have Curves" is a small film with the nerve and the guts to question and then supply answers to some of the stuff our culture bombards us with daily. Stuff that can either stifle you...or make you stronger and more resolute.

Great movie for all ages. This film is very enjoyable and it can be appreciated by any age group. It seems like a good family movie.

It's about a Latino family and their struggles with their dress shop. It is also about the choice that Ana (college bound) must make. I felt the pressure that the family put her through. She is a very bright and independent girl who's made to feel obligated to work in the family's business.

Characters are portrayed very authentically and believable.

Nothing too far fetched (except maybe the underwear dancing factory workers), though that was a hysterical scene.

Loved it!
Recommend it!

If you can,patronize this movie! It was a wonderful film with a smart, strong-willed, plus-sized, smart-mouthed teenage girl as its protagnist(Ana played by America Ferrera with wonderful realism). Although it is set in East L.A. and deals with the Mexican-American experience, there are none of your stereotypical elements--teen pregnancy, gangs, killing, or your general socially irresponsible behavior.

It had realistic family dynamics. Many of the people left the theatre stating that the mother in the movie (or the sister or the grandpa) reminded them of their real life equivalent. The general message of the movie was to accept yourself for who you are and not be afraid to live outside the box--whether it's being a fat girl in a thin-obsessed society or deciding to go to college instead of the family tradition of going to work after high school. (Ana and her mother clash over the place of women in society. Ana's mother selfishly belives that Ana should go to work and skip college, although she's smart enough for a full scholarship, because she had to start working at age 13.)

The best part of the movie is at the sweatshop/factory where Ana strips off her shirt because she's so hot.(They're not allowed to turn on the fan because dust will blow onto the dresses.) Her mother is aghast because Ana is such "a butterball." The other women there then start whipping off their clothes to show their "flaws." Soon, you have 4 women on the screen who are wrinkled, fat, flabby, celluite-laden standing in their underwear. Why was this the best part? Because they were all beautiful. Ana says she doesn't want to change her size because it's a big "f*ck you" to the skinny-obsessed society. All the women in the theater clapped at this point. It was a feel good movie that was well made.

It is so wonderful to have a film about women learning to just be who you are, regardless of class background and/or size. A great story of accepting yourself and others, and demanding that you be accepted for who and what you are.

I liked this movie a lot. It's not a powerhouse, it's what I think of as a "whisperer." I watched it months ago, and there are some particular moments that keep playing in my mind, still, because I could really feel them. I'm far from being a Latina, but I love Latino/Mexican/Central American culture, so I watched this movie expecting it to be aimed at an audience much younger than me. I love "Ugly Betty" and thought seeing America Ferrera in one of her movies would be interesting. There were several mother-daughter scenes in this movie which really brought forth long-buried memories of exchanges with my own mother, moments where you realize how uncomfortable you're making your mother and you can't help it. As an adult I realize what those moments were, and they don't seem so large and terrible now, but at the time they were. This movie brought them back into focus and made me realize the importance of growing up, of becoming your own person, and the necessity for every daughter to have the courage to "step over" their mother and become herself. It's interesting to watch Ana come through the process and finally realize how HARD her family works to make her able to take that step over. On another note, I am appalled and disappointed at how many fans of Ms. Ferrera have posted on various sites that they love her, love that she's not the usual lookalike skinny stick-insect, and then finish their post with something like, "she'd be prettier if she'd lose weight." It's mean and false. This movie also made me go back and watch "The Joy Luck Club" again, another excellent mother-daughter reflection.

This 2002 independent film is classified as a comedy. It's not.

It's a small slice of life about a Mexican American young woman who has just graduated high school. She dreams of going to college but her family insists she work in her older sister's dress factory. There's a clash of cultures. And some very moving moments. It's a uniquely American story, one that has been told over and over again as all waves of immigrants have to deal with assimilation. And yet, it is always fascinating.

Casting is excellent. America Ferrera plays the young woman. She, like her mother and sister, is overweight and curvy. But the title doesn't just relate to her body. It's about the kind of curves that woman have to deal with in life - like a curve ball thrown in a baseball game. Lupe Ontiveros is the mother. It's a great role, and it's easy to relate to her as she tries to keep her family together. She has absolutely magnificent facial expressions. One look from her tells a thousand stories. Ingrid Oliu is the older sister trying to keep her small shop in business. The women sew evening gowns that sell for $600 or more in Bloomingdale's. For this, the contractor gets a mere $18 per dress. It's hot in the shop and they work long hours. Not a life for a young woman who has big dreams.

Later, during the DVD's special feature section, Josefina Lopez, the writer, told the audience that she, herself, actually worked in one of these sweatshops. No wonder it all seemed so authentic!

This is a coming of age film. It's also a film about women, and their bodies. In one scene the women in the sweatshop strip down to their underwear and proudly display their very imperfect bodies to one another. There sure was a lot of strength in that scene. And a positive message for all women.

Recommended.

Patricia Cardosa's "Real Women Have Curves" is a touching and humorous comedy/drama about both self-esteem and family.In the story we meet Ana (wonderfully played by America Ferrera) a smart, young, Mexican American, women who has just graduated from high school.With the help of scholarships and financial aid she has the ability to be the first in her family to go on to college. She is at that point in life, where anything is possible.Unfortunately she is opposed by her loving but extremely rigid, Mother (Lupe Ontiveros), who insists that her place and duty is to help with the family's financial survival by working in her sister's small, struggling, dress factory. Ana joins the friendly (and gossiping), female workers in the factory, but eventually she must get on with her life on her own terms.This is a beautiful movie about letting go of a person even though you love them. It is also a film about being proud of who you are. The Ana character is overweight (she's not your typical Hollywood size 2)yet she is proud of herself and sees no shame in her body.This leads to one of the funniest scenes in the movie in which Ana coxes her similarly overweight co-workers to strip down to their undies in the broiling, hot factory! Actress, America Ferrera really is a charismatic force, who just lights up the screen with her talent.The rest of the cast is equally marvelous including Lupe Ontiveros, Ingrid Oliu, George Lopez, Soldad St. Hilaire and Felipe de Alba.This is a wonderfully moving film which I highly recommend! (NOTE: Make sure to watch the film all the way through. After the end credits is a key scene that is important to the story!)

Really good coming of age movie. Brings up a lot of issues ( independence; what you owe your family, acceptance/pride in your own body type/cross cultural attitudes toward education and breaking out into the larger community/ or staying in your own culture and the price to pay either way etc) issues to think about and to discuss with a teenager or friend who watches it (preferably with you). And not a "heavy handed" movie either. I enjoyed the movie enough to buy it and (obviously) would recommend it just for enjoyment (it's cute and funny) even if you don't want to deal with "issues".

I have no feedback about this movie that isn't positive. It was a pleasure to watch the film, which is about a young real-size woman who graduates from high school, encounters her first love, and moves on to college despite opposition from her traditional Latino family (especially her mother). It's as if Hollywood (at least some independent aspect of it) is finally waking up to the fact that truly, "real women have curves" (are not all size 0), have brains and aspirations and moxie, and come from different ethnic groups and backgrounds. I'm not Latino, but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I want to see films about the people I see around me in my urban area - there are a variety of people. I want films to reflect that. It's a pleasure when a movie like this one shows the ethnic background of a character so those not familiar with it can learn, but also shows aspects of life that we can all relate to. I really enjoyed the lead character. She was so strong and knew herself so well. The part in the dress-making shop where the women remove their outer clothes to combat the heat and express their self-acceptance was truly liberating. I hope to see more films like this, and soon.