The All-Americans

(2017) Documentary (Abramorama) Alfred Robledo, Mario Ramirez, Sammy Hernandez, Javier Cid, Chuy Hernandez, Stevie Williams, Fran “Simba” Saucedo, Lorenzo Hernandez, Joseph “Spike” Silva, James Wicks, LaVada Williams, Huero Navarro, Lorraine Sauno, Ernie Sauno, Kathy Lopez, Lynn Cain, Yellow. Directed by Billy McMillin

 

There is something peculiarly American about high school football rivalries. The Big Game, whether it’s played in a big city or a small town, is something that helps define entire communities. It can make or break an entire season; one can count themselves a success if they lose every other game that season except the one with their bitter rivals; conversely, a championship season can lose its luster if the only loss is to those rivals.

In East L.A., that game is El Classico, the game pitting the James Garfield High School Bulldogs and the Theodore Roosevelt High School Rough Riders. Both schools, like East L.A. itself, are predominantly Latino. Many of the students from both schools speak English as a second language; many of the students have undocumented family members or are themselves undocumented. Throughout the film, we hear a litany of complaints from right wing radio commentators about how the flood of immigrants from South of the Border are changing the make-up of America and not for the better. The racism in the remarks is so thinly veiled as to not be veiled at all.

That’s what these kids face in addition to all the things high school kids face; romance, fitting in, feelings of inadequacy, studying hard for a future that is uncertain. As any person who has played high school football will tell you, the demands of practice and commitment to the team also put pressure on kids already overburdened from pressures just trying to make it through the school day.

The movie documents that, focusing on Coach Javier Cid from Garfield who is trying not just to make a competitive football team but to make sure that every kid graduates – he is more proud of their 100% graduation rate than their won-loss record, which a lot of parents will appreciate. One of his players, wide receiver Mario Ramirez, is doing more than graduating; he has a 3.97 GPA and letters of recruitment from Harvard, Yale and his school of choice, Princeton. He wants to be the first from his family to graduate college but lives in a small apartment with 14 other family members.

Over at Roosevelt, coach Lorenzo Hernandez’ day job is as a patrol cop for the LAPD. He sees the results of kids making bad choices every shift, and is determined that his charges develop the self-discipline and self-respect to make it in life. Linebacker Joseph “Spike” Silva has two absent parents; his dad is in jail and his mom is a junkie lost to the streets. He himself has fathered a baby daughter and works before school in a bakery. On the field, he is a coiled spring of rage. Quarterback Stevie Williams is an outsider; he is an African-American student who takes city buses to school every day from South Central, hoping that football will take him further away from that part of Los Angeles.

The stories of the kids and their coaches are compelling enough that the big game itself is almost anti-climactic which is a good thing because the game isn’t terribly exciting or ever much in doubt. McMillin is forced to concentrate on how the football team affects the players and in doing so we are treated to many of the clichés that coaches love to espouse at the high school level.

What I would have liked to have seen more of is how the game effects the community; it is clearly a big deal in East Los, as natives call it – the game has been played for well over 80 years and many of the players are second and third generation at their schools. In this documentary, the kids and their coaches exist in a vacuum and an opportunity is lost to really share much of the culture and pride of East L.A. with a wider audience.

Still, there is a lot to be gained here. We’ve seen high school football stories before and this one definitely has a bit of an accent, which is a good thing – we are made to realize that these kids are no different than the ones playing the game all over the country, other than the pervasive specter of immigration woes, and racism directed their way, more than perhaps at any other time in the history of East L.A. In an era where “Build that wall” is regularly chanted by those who follow our President blinded, it is well we are reminded what that wall is intended to keep out.

REASONS TO SEE: A realistic look at the Latino experience circa 2018.
REASONS TO AVOID: Looks a little bit more at the individuals involved rather than at the overall effect on the community.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some profanity and teen partying.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Initially, the game was known as the “Chili Bowl” but the name was changed to the East Los Angeles Classic because the two schools felt it was more dignified and reflective of the neighborhood overall.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 11/13/19: Rotten Tomatoes: 71% positive reviews: Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Pahokee
FINAL RATING: 6.5/10
NEXT: Return to Mount Kennedy

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The Fluffy Movie

Gabriel Iglesias works the crowd.

(2014) Stand-Up Comedy Concert (Open Road) Gabriel Iglesias, Jacqueline Obradors, Gina Brillon, Armando C. Cosio, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Ron White, Tommy Chong, Alfred Robles, Rick Gutierrez, Piolin, Ray Williams Johnson, Juliocesar Chavez, Martin Moreno, Chuy Lopez. Directed by Manny Rodriguez and Jay Lavender

Some may not be aware that Gabriel Iglesias is one of the most popular comedians on the planet. Having taken a run on Last Comic Standing that was promising but was cut short due to a rules violation (he phoned home despite a ban on communication with family which got him disqualified), he has parlayed that disappointment into mega-popularity. He has sold out hundreds of shows around the world and his Unity Through Laughter tour took the portly comic to dozens of countries in an effort to embrace the philosophy that no matter how different our cultures we all have laughter in common.

Stand-Up concert films tend to be less cinematic than music concert films. A big budget production can fill a big screen but when it comes to stand-up, the focus is entirely on one guy telling jokes. While the small screen is adequate for that, sometimes on the big multiplex screen it can seem a bit lost.

Still, Iglesias is warm and funny and you get a sense of his commitment to his family (including a stepson he raised, something which I can relate to), his pride in his culture (comparing it to the culture of India) and his loyalty to his friends (discussed in a story of a drunken night with his friend Martin in a gay bar). You can’t help but like the guy.

Much of the comedy has to do with his teenage son Frankie who is at that phase in his life where he communicates in monosyllables and the most important thing in life is playing videogames. Iglesias describes his frustrations in communicating with his son and his inability to get him to take out the trash (sound familiar to anyone out there?) which leads Iglesias to the realization that he’d spoiled his son.

Like with most stand-ups, Iglesias is at his best when he gets personal with his own life. He talks about his battle with his weight – he had ballooned up to 455 pounds which is, as he put it, “just shy of a Discovery Channel show” – and has lost a significant amount of weight. What prompted him to lose the weight was his doctor’s diagnosis of Type II Diabetes and the doctor’s prognosis that if he didn’t do something about it immediately, he’d be dead in two years. That’s the kind of thing that motivates people. Not a candidate for gastric bypass surgery due to his lifestyle on the road, Iglesias did it by essentially eliminating carbs. He still eats tons of cholesterol but as he puts it, “that’ll only kill me in ten years. I figure I’ve gained eight years.” Barrio math.

Recorded at the Shark Tank in San Jose (previously known as San Jose Arena, HP Pavilion and currently as SAP Center) – an arena I’m intimately familiar with having attended several concerts and hockey games there – he turns an arena that seats close to 20,000 people into an intimate club setting. While he can’t interact with his audience the same way he might in a comedy club, he certainly relates to them.

The crowning glory of the movie takes place over the last twenty minutes or so and it is why I’ve rated this movie as highly as I have. The movie opens with a skit that depicts the meeting between his mom (Obradors) and his mariachi-playing dad (Valdez) in a Tijuana club. The result was little Gabriel who in the second act of the opening skit is inspired by a nefariously rented videotape of Eddie Murphy Raw. The two events become central to the film’s denouement. It is also no accident that Raw also begins of a skit enacting events from Murphy’s childhood.

Gabriel describes how his father, who had abandoned the child he’d created and the woman he’d created him with, got in contact with him after 30 years. Iglesias was reluctant to get together at first; there’s a lot of anger that comes in being abandoned by a parent as you might imagine. Some of that anger gets expressed here, some of it through humor. Iglesias finally agrees to meet his absent father which leads to some surprising discoveries.

Not long after, Frankie’s natural father contacts Iglesias and announces that he wants to get involved in Frankie’s life. That can be devastating to a stepdad who worries how the dynamic might affect his relationship with his son, and whether bringing someone into their lives who may well have been better off out of their lives might create tension. How this works out is a tribute to stepparents everywhere (as Iglesias gratefully acknowledges in the end credits).

Standup concert films aren’t for everyone, but this is one of the best I’ve seen. The end of the movie had some tears falling as well as the laughter and I don’t think you have to be a stepparent to feel the emotion that Iglesias brings out with his storytelling. Not everyone will relate but there is enough common ground here that all of us can find something to laugh about.

The Spanish word mija is one I wish we had in the English language. It is a word, spoken sometimes with exasperation but always with affection in regards to your children. “What do you want, mija?” or “Don’t cry, mija.” There’s nothing analogous to it in English; we tend to use existing words like son or sweetie or baby with our kids but we don’t have a specific word that carries with it such love and affection. Hearing a parent refer to you as mija is like being wrapped in a warm blanket of love and that reference continues well into your own adulthood. We are all children of somebody and our relationship with our parents informs our relationship with our kids, those of us that have them. When a movie comes along that reminds you of how amazing that relationship is, it’s a movie worth seeking out. That it comes from a stand-up comedy routine is even more amazing.

 

REASONS TO GO: Very funny stand-up work. The last 20 minutes are absolutely devastating.

REASONS TO STAY: Some may find the personal material jarring after the more traditional comedy.

FAMILY VALUES:  A smattering of mildly foul language and some sexual references.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The stand-up content was aggregated from two shows filmed on February 28, 2014 and March 1, 2014.

CRITICAL MASS: As of 7/29/14: Rotten Tomatoes: 50% positive reviews. Metacritic: 62/100.

COMPARISON SHOPPING: Eddie Murphy: Raw

FINAL RATING: 8/10

NEXT: 13

La Mission

Benjamin Bratt as an aging homeboy.

(2009) Drama (Screen Media Ventures) Benjamin Bratt, Erika Alexander, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Jesse Borrego, Talisa Soto Bratt, Tina Huang, Kevin Michael Richardson, Tatiana Rivas, Cesar Gomez, Neo Veavea, Cathleen Ridley, Max Rosenak. Directed by Peter Bratt

When it comes down to it, pride can be the defining force of a man. Pride is what makes him walk tall, gives him the sense that he is king of all he surveys. Pride can also kill the things he loves most.

Che Rivera (B. Bratt) is one of the cornerstones of his neighborhood in the San Francisco Mission District. He is an ex-con and recovering alcoholic who drives a local bus and in his spare time, details lowrider cars. He is respected and maybe a little bit feared as well. His swagger has caught the attention of Lena (Alexander), a new neighborhood and not in a good way. However as she gets to know Che better, her attitude changes (as does his towards her) and a tentative, awkward romance develops.

His world is his son Jesse (Valdez) who is a straight-A student with a scholarship to UCLA in the offing. Jesse has indeed made his father proud but has a secret – he’s gay. When Che discovers pictures of Jesse and his lover Jordan (Rosenak) in an – ahem – compromising position, Che goes ballistic. He throws his son out of the house and engages in a beatdown that alerts the neighborhood to Jesse’s sexual tendencies.

This shocks and horrifies Lena, who knows men like this through her job. The anger and rage that bubbles just below the surface and erupts into violence that could well one day be directed at her. The homophobia of Che also doesn’t fit well in her ideal. While this is going on, Jesse is undergoing trials of his own. The Latino community, heavily vested in machismo, doesn’t take kindly to gay men and he is harassed – sometimes violently – which Che is very well aware of. Gay or not, he is still his son but can Che find a way past his own pride, past his own cultural prejudices to bridge the gap with his son – and his girlfriend?

This is very much a love story but not between Lena and Che so much or even between Jesse and Jordan but between director Bratt and this neighborhood. The genuine affection and understanding for the culture is exuded palpably throughout the movie. The camaraderie between neighborhood homeboys is organic and even if the dialogue is sometimes clumsy, the feelings between the lines are not.

Benjamin Bratt made a name for himself on the original “Law and Order” series, and has since developed into a fine actor in his own right. Here he captures both the inner rage of Che, the conflict between his heritage and the love for his son but also his natural affability and charm. If you were part of the neighborhood, no doubt you’d be looking up to this man; he is generous with his friends and that friendship isn’t given easily.

Alexander, who was a cousin on “The Cosby Show”, is beautiful still as she was a decade ago in her TV days. She also “gets” the mentality of a Bay Area citizen with all that implies – the liberal mindset and the inclusive behavior. Having lived there for nearly two decades, I have known hundreds of people just like her there; not saints so much as they are passionate in their beliefs. She makes a fine counterpoint to Che’s macho ways.

There is an authenticity here that has been lauded by Latin critics as well as honesty in the depiction of the rejection of the gay son that the gay community knows all too well. There is a dignity here that is augmented by genuine warmth that even though not every aspect of the neighborhood is beautiful, it at least fees like home.

Love may not conquer all but it is a sure route to overcoming anything. The message of La Mission is not always clearly stated, but seems to be genuinely felt and in an era where moviegoers are often hammered over the head with platitudes that seem to be added to movies out of a need to have some sort of moral center, is a refreshing change of pace. It ain’t perfect, but it’s home.

WHY RENT THIS: An authentic look at the neighborhood, its multi-ethnic culture and specifically the Hispanic lowrider culture. 

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The ending takes a little long to arrive. The dialogue is a bit clumsy at times.

FAMILY VALUES: The language is pretty rough here; there’s also some violence and a bit of sexuality as well.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: The star and the director are brothers and both grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: There’s a featurette on the soundtrack of the film that gives insight not only into the process of selecting the music but the exacting standards that were used in getting the music of the neighborhood right.

BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE: $1.1M on an unreported production budget; the movie probably broke even or maybe even made a few bucks.

FINAL RATING: 6.5/10

TOMORROW: Splice