Y tu mamá también (2001)

Director:

Alfonso Cuarón

Writers:

Alfonso Cuarón (screenplay)
Carlos Cuarón (screenplay)

Release Date:

8 June 2001 (Mexico)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

La vida tiene sus maneras de enseñarnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de confundirnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de cambiarnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de asombrarnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de herirnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de curarnos. La vida tiene sus maneras de inspirarnos.

Plot:

In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.

Plot Keywords:

Road Trip | Mexico | Sex | Wedding | Friendship

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 33 wins & 27 nominations

Cast

Ana López Mercado	...	Ana Morelos
Diego Luna	...	Tenoch Iturbide
Gael García Bernal	...	Julio Zapata
Nathan Grinberg	...	Manuel Huerta
Verónica Langer	...	María Eugenia Calles de Huerta
María Aura	...	Cecilia Huerta
Giselle Audirac	...	Nicole Bazaine
Arturo Ríos	...	Esteban Morelos
Andrés Almeida	...	Diego 'Saba' Madero
Diana Bracho	...	Silvia Allende de Iturbide
Emilio Echevarría	...	Miguel Iturbide
Marta Aura	...	Enriqueta 'Queta' Allende
Maribel Verdú	...	Luisa Cortés
Juan Carlos Remolina	...	Alejandro 'Jano' Montes de Oca
Liboria Rodríguez	...	Leodegaria 'Leo' Victoria

Also Known As:

And Your Mother Too (USA) (informal literal title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content involving teens, drug use and language.

Runtime:

105 min | South Korea:102 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:R-18 (re-rating) | Philippines:X (original rating) | Brazil:14 (DVD rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Belgium:KNT | Brazil:18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:14 | Colombia:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Hungary:16 | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM18 | Japan:R-15 | Mexico:C (cut) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Poland:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | South Korea:18 (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico

Company:

Anhelo Producciones

Trivia:

Isaac Sánchez was to play the part of Tenoch Iturbide, but it was decided that an older actor would play the role, due to strong sexual scenes and Sánchez's being 16 at the time.

Goofs:

Continuity: The movie takes place in the summertime - we know this from the boys just having graduated, their girls going off to Europe, the weather, etc. Yet at the wedding near the beginning of the film, the narrator tells us that in a few days the president of Mexico will go to Seattle for the WTO conference - which happened in November.

Quotes:

Silivia Allende de Iturbide: Oh, Saba, I didn't know you were here
Diego 'Saba' Madero: [on drugs] Oh, here and everywhere

Movie Connections:

Featured in Wanderlust (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

By This River

Sexually explicit and hilarious, yet at the same time very compelling

I read an article about this movie and some have referred to this movie as a Mexican version of "American Pie." I believe the joke was that it should be called "Latin-American Pie." Now, I enjoyed the "AP" movies, and don't believe them to be crappy movies, but they possess no depth and substance. "Y Tu Mama Tambien" is much more sexually explicit than those two films put together, but it's in no way exploitative. It's a slice-of-life story involving teens, and who's gonna deny that 80 percent of a teenager's life revolves around sex?

The two main characters, though utterly repulsive in nature, aren't totally unsympathetic, like the characters in Larry Clark's "Kids." Through the narration, we get a sense of the characters' backgrounds and why they are the way they are. We aren't simply thrown into this torrent of teenage decadence without a net.

I'm sure very few people will regard this as a comedy, but it's filled with hilarious moments, mostly involving the explicit sexual conversations. Though it leaves you with a sad feeling at the end, it doesn't keep you depressed the whole way through.

As well as being a character-driven youth drama/road movie, it's basically a film about life, most specifically fate and how it works in mysterious ways and how many people live parallel lives and simply aren't aware. I'm not going to pretend as if I wasn't stimulated by the sex scenes, or seeing the Spanish actress who plays Luisa naked, but I didn't enjoy it just because of its sexual content. Too many movies nowadays forbid you the pleasure of going on a character's journey. Too many movies are all about plot, and more specially about plot devices. Screenwriters spend so much time developing plot that character development is put on the backburner. When you get to know the characters this deeply, you're able to connect with them, feel their pleasure and feel their pain. "Y Tu Mama Tambien" is one of those rare, character-driven gems that is definitely worth a trip to the video store!

My score: 9 (out of 10)