Tortilla Soup
Maria Ripoll
2002, MGM Home Entertainment
100 minutes, English and Spanish
LATAMROB rating: ***
IS THE family supper the best time to make a life changing announcement? In a remake of Ang Lee’s Eat, drink, man, woman, Tortilla Soup offers a new taste. Interestingly, it is the father in this Mexican American family who shows his affection by cooking the most amazing plates for the girls, and not the the other way round. In this modern portrait of middle-class Latinos there is a teacher, a business graduate who wants to prove to dad that girls can also cook, and their youngest sister, the one who wants to pack up school and travel the world with her boyfriend as a sign of maturity. Raquel Welch plays the annoying mum. Ditching oriental subtlety and flavour, and a bit on the Ugly Betty side, Director María Ripoll manages to deliver a right crowd pleaser, at times too sweet but still enjoyable. If you wish to watch a Latin American story that won’t depress you on a night in, go for it. But please do not watch this movie with an empty stomach, and even less if you are on a diet, it will bring tears to your eyes. The question is, if Maria Ripoll has attempted to re-make an Ang Lee film, could her next movie be “Wetback mountain”? – GJ
