Eager to protect his street-cred after his friends discover he’s been sleeping with upstairs neighbour “Fat Donna” (DONNA MALDONADO), Victor sets out to nab a new girl. Much to her annoyance, popular “Juicy Judy” Ramirez (JUDY MARTE) finds herself the object of Victor’s relentless attention. After a humiliating series of public rejections, Victor strikes a bargain with Judy’s younger brother Carlos (WILFREE VASQUEZ). In exchange for a date with Victor’s younger sister, Vicky, Carlos will help Victor win Judy’s affections. His plan proves successful and Judy agrees to tolerate him as "her new man,” securing Victor’s place high atop the neighbourhood’s social pecking order.

STEVEN SNYDER'S REVIEW

With films like “Raising Victor Vargas,” the value of a laptop computer becomes clear. Most movies require serious meditation before something intelligent can be written. But with the likes of “Vargas,” and other brilliant, emotional and passionate films, it would be nice to be able to sit down in the theater lobby and capture every emotion that’s worth sharing. When something’s great, one wants to rave.

Victor Vargas (Victor Rasuk) is a teenage kid, simple as that. He feels out of place in his family, often fighting with his brother Nino (Silvestre Rasuk), his sister Vicki (Krystal Rodriguez), and his grandmother (Altagracia Guzman), who is raising the family in less than ideal conditions. He is confused about sexuality, wanting to explore as almost all boys do, and is extremely concerned about what people think of him. Some of his friends hoot at girls on the street. Victor is quite obviously not one of them.

Throughout the film, these are his two issues of interest – women, and his family. Unlike other coming-of-age stories, which clutter the proceedings with melodrama and conflict, “Raising Victor Vargas” understands that, if handled correctly, these two forces are more than enough for a young and confused boy.

One day at the pool, Vargas sees Judy (Judy Marte) across the way. She looks pretty, and is known to be one of the “hottest” girls around. So he goes up, bursting with immaturity, and attempts to get her attention. She brushes him off, as any sane girl would.

I believe that all of us, after our first heartbreak, keep something hidden from our subsequent lovers. People do not give everything they have because they remember the pain of that first loss. “Raising Victor Vargas” is a film that returns to the time before that heartbreak – when teenagers learn what it is like to finally trust someone and let go of their inhibitions. This is not a film about happily ever after, but a testament to the joy of that first touch and that first kiss.

A favorite of several film festivals, “Vargas” is a celebration of self-discovery. Early in the film, Vargas is preoccupied with having sex with someone he doesn’t love. Judy is preoccupied with reputation, wanting to project the image that she is attached in order to brush off the boorish men that get in her way. When they meet, their walls are still up, and they essentially use the other to suit their purposes. But slowly the walls come down and their relationship starts to mean something more.

One of “Vargas’” refreshing attributes is a complete lack of Hollywood glitz. It is not a film about love at first sight or implausible, long-winded speeches about passion. Rather, it shows young love for what it is: something spontaneous and irrational. Why does Vargas seek out Judy after her initial rejection? Because the thought of her remains with him. Why do they overcome the conflicts that arise? Because something inside each of them still liked the other.
It may not make sense in movie land, but it seems awfully true to life.

The progression of this film and the presentation of these confused characters is subdued, and honest. So many romantic comedies and coming-of-age stories have been made that when something fresh and unexpected comes along, many people are not sure how to take it. But for all the times I have screamed at people to wake up, be alive, think about life and leave a movie with something tangible to ponder, I cannot stop reliving “Victor Vargas.” There is so much here to think about and learn from. Like all great movies, it will strike everyone differently based on their childhoods and first loves.

Some have complained that “Vargas” does not supply enough reasoning behind Vargas and Judy’s affections, and does not offer enough insight into their hearts to make the audience care. I challenge this entire mindset. Vargas and Judy are never sure they love each other. That is not the point of this film. Rather, it is about their journey to that point when they are open to the very possibility of loving someone - when immaturity starts to fade away and they cautiously let someone else in to their heart. And unlike most Hollywood films, which reduce characters to stereotypes and plot vehicles, director Peter Sollett insists that Vargas and Judy be traditional teenagers, filled with fear, doubt, uncertainty, but also hope. The fact that they bear no resemblance to a Freddie Prinze Jr. character is, in my mind, a compliment.

“Vargas’” story arch is perfect. This couple’s gradual moves towards intimacy are not forced, but achingly real. Vargas wants sex, but Judy demands respect. Judy pretends to be annoyed by some of Vargas’ antics, but secretly reflects upon them and smiles. As they learn more about each other, they like the view even more, and this culminates in a scene of quiet affectionate more tender and affecting than anything ever offered up by Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock. And leaving this romance, I could not help but celebrate the fact that a film has finally been made about teenagers that celebrates emotional over physical closeness.

And constantly working in the background is a story about family that resonates as soundly as that of its romance. In many ways, Vargas is not only discovering how to love and trust a lover, but also how to accept and embrace his grandmother just as he fights to break free. He is growing and maturing, and must confront both before he finds peace.

“Vargas” is a movie that recognizes simply holding a loved one is always better than sex with a random partner. It’s a movie about the struggle to love one’s family while still yearning to break free. It is a rare film that attempts to explore the dizzying buildup to a relationship, rather than the relationship itself. And, in so subtly creating these characters, these decisions and these life-defining moments, it becomes, quite possibly, one of the best films about teenage confusion and closeness ever made.

When the real thing comes along, phrases like “you complete me” and sappy music simply aren’t required. It has only been an hour, and I cannot wait to see this beautiful film again.

Visit http://www.zertinet.com for reviews, features and more

MOVIE WEB PAGE

LINKS TO REVIEWS

IMDB WEB PAGE

MOVIE REVIEW QUERY ENGINE

Showtimes

DAVID JOHNSON'S REVIEW

I think the purpose of any reviewer must be two fold in the world of cinema. They first must accept that making film has turned into a business and people do not always go to see a film to think. In fact much of the time people go to film with the expressed purpose of not thinking. There are films that may have excellent craftsmanship, but do little to create any type of art. And then there are films made for the people who truly think of film as an art film.
The problem is that these films are almost impossible to compare. Raising Victor Vargas is definitely an attempt at art. Furthermore it's a film that is created by people with artistic and technical skill. People well versed in the art and craft of making film. Yet these very things are what makes the errors in Victor Vargas so difficult to take. In the light of so much potential it is frustrating at times to watch this film flounder when it does.

Raising Victor Vargas starts out creating these wonderful characters that are created with such deft that you can become engrossed in the film so quickly. Victor's character is quickly revealed simply by the way he walks and talks. It's amazing how little time we actually spend in this film developing these characters. Throughout the films we learn almost nothing about anything that has happened to these characters before the film. The most in depth exposition is a small little bit from the grandmother about growing up. Yet these characters are still develop so that we understand them.

The character of Judy facinates me too. The director takes great pains to develop her fear of intimacy – to the point that I would assume she had to have undergone some kind of traumatic event at some point in her life. Yet she is also chosen to as the primary part of a romantic relationship. These characters all end up dealing with their issues with sex and relationships together. Their individual problems intersecting. Some are simply afraid of any relationship period for fear of being rejected, others genuinely don't know how to be in a relationship.
Yet they all look to Victor for help. They all look to the person who has the least real experience in a relationship and the least ability to actually get into a meaningful relationship. He in turn gives them the worst advice and they don't listen. Once he starts on his relationship with Judy a whole new facet to his dealings with relationships develops. He is suddenly with a girl that refuses every one of his sexual advances, a girl who is inherently incompatible because he places so much emphasis on the sexual aspects of a relationship and she places so little.

Yet there is a point near the hour mark where the film starts to fall apart. I simply cannot accept some of the actions of these characters based on their previous actions. Suddenly as if some great force was applied to them, they all change and get over their fears and problems. They all nicely settle down in preparation for a nice happy ending. This is the problem I have always had with the film, and the problem which plaques it even more so on the second viewing. There are all these wonderful characters and the film fails to make any salient point at the end when it matters most.

This is not for any lack of interesting points or discussion points that could be addressed in the later part of the film. Very little time is given to the extent and meaning being Judy and Melonie's relationship. They make an obvious awkward mention to the fact that they decided they “didn't need anyone else.” And yet at times there are undertones in their dialog that could hint at something deeper in their relationship. I also found the opening scene with Fat Donna confusing given the context of the end of the movie. It becomes obvious that Victor has the capacity for a more meaningful relationship, yet to what extent was his relationship with Donna deeper? In my mind the director made a point of creating a sense of emotion is the opening scene with Donna and this seems almost conveniently forgotten. They make a point of showing a picture of them together, and the exchange between them seems to definitely have an attachment and comfort to it. How are we to take the ending of the movie then? Combine this with the fact that all the couples in the movie seem on the surface driven almost entirely by weight (larger people with other larger people, skinny people with skinny people) and suddenly the theme of the movie seems to be that all you need to have a relationship is someone of similar appearances and the rest will fall into place if you just give it time. This is an absolutely horrid message for a movie. And yet, there is little else to obtain from the movie to override this.

When it comes down to it, Raising Victor Vargas was a disappointment. It sets up these beautiful characters in a setting that just breathes of life and then choose to ignore all this at the end in order to obtain the happy ending.

Movies @ Zertinet | Oscars @ Zertinet | Main Site
IMDB | Moviefone | Movie Review Query Engine
Contact Us | Subscribe | Unsubscribe

Best Viewed at 800 X 600 or greater
Design by David Johnson