The Perez Family
The Perez Family
R | 12 May 1995 (USA)
The Perez Family Trailers

In the midst of the Mariel boat lift -- a hurried exodus of refugees from Cuba going to America -- an immigration clerk accidentally presumes that dissident Juan Raul Perez and Dorita Evita Perez are married. United by their last name and a mutual resolve to emigrate, Dorita and Juan agree to play along. But it gets complicated when the two begin falling for each other just as Juan reunites with his wife, Carmela, whom he hasn't seen in decades.

Reviews
WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.
Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
atlasmb "The Perez Family" can't decide what it wants to be--a romance, a comedy, or a historical documentation of a period. The story comes from a novel about Cuban refugees--and maybe the novel was effective--but this rendition of the story is undermined by a confusing tone. It seems to move from tragedy to comedy to the surreal with such alacrity and little sense of purpose that the entire film feels inconsequential.All of the actors do a fine job. But they are given a script that devalues their performances. Marisa Tomei, in particular, gives a sensual performance that is just tossed away by the schizophrenic narrative. In the end, "The Perez Family" feels populated by caricatures.Within this film, I think there are the beginnings of a solid serious film. And a lighthearted comedy. And a sensual love story. But misdirection, bad editing and/or bad writing have mashed them all together into a lump of confusion.I do think it is possible to blend comedy, tragedy and more in one film. For a surreal, artistic, symbolistic example (that is even a musical), see Francis Ford Coppola's "One From the Heart". When I think how well some of the "Perez" characters could fit into a story like that, it reinforces my disappointment of this film.There are parts of this film that could be very striking if they were within a coherent story. Too bad.
lastliberal This is a cute little film starring Marisa Tomei (Wild Hogs, My Cousin Vinny) and Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2, Frida) as Cubans who came over on the Marial boat lift in the 80s.Juan Raul Perez (Molina) is married to Carmela (Anjelica Huston), who came to America 20 years previous while Juan languished in a Cuban prison. He is stuck in an immigration facility with Dorita Evita Perez (Tomei), who is not related to him, but pretends to be his wife so they can get out. They even pick up a father and a son in their attempt at freedom.While Juan is trying to escape and reunite with Carmela, her brother, Angel (Diego Wallraff) is trying to keep them apart. Further complicating the adventure is a cop, Lt. John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri), who is falling in love with Carmela.It is a sweet little comedy that Tomei does so well and worth spending some time with.
TxMike Nothing else good on TV, and not feeling like going to the DVD store, we watched "Perez Family" on WE network. Molina's wife and child go to Miami by boat from Cuba, he stays behind to care for the sugar cane, lands in jail for a long time. Twenty years later he manages to leave, and on the boat meets Marisa Tomei, a sexy Cuban prostitute, who at arrival in Key West suggests they represent themselves as "Perez and Perez", a married couple. They begin a life in Miami, his real wife turns up (Angelica Huston), she has fallen for a policeman (Chaz Palminteri), meanwhile Molina and Tomei begin to appreciate each other.In the climax, Molina and Huston meet up at a dance, 20 years after they last saw each other, they smile, are cordial, but they prefer the lives that fate has dealt them, Molina and Tomei stay together, his wife and the policeman stay together. Not heavy, a cute little romantic comedy. Marisa Tomei is so good!
generic-2 We didn't expect much from this rental that we had never heard of but ended up being delighted. Marisa Tomei was an absolute delight. Angelica Houston was different than we have ever seen her and looked very attractive. Very, very good movie with a little bit of everything you could want. Marisa Tomei was wonderful.