Rating: 
Summary: Cliched and disappointing After School Special
Review: As a full figured woman myself, I badly wanted to like this indie film. But it's shallow and full of cliches and very underwritten, with many unrealistic events and situations that seem artificial.America Ferrara plays the heroine Ana, who is only slightly overweight by normal people standards but of course HUGELY FAT by the standards of Hollywood and the media. In most parts of the world and throughout most of human history (until the last 40 years or so), she would have been considered a beautiful, sexy, curvaceous fertility symbol. Now, sadly, any young woman who looks like Ana is considered obese. It is very hard to believe that Ana is really as confident as she comes on -- considering her weight a kinda of "f__k you" to the larger society -- without a drop of insecurity or pain. The movie does not explore this duality of liking yourself and still feeling bad that your physical appearance is scorned. Oddly enough, Hispanic culture is one where fuller figured women are traditionally more accepted than in mainstream Anglo culture. So the filmakers choose an odd cultural setting for their story. Also, Ana gets the most flack from her overweight mom....she is totally accepted by her skinny white boyfriend from Beverly Hills. Huh? This doesn't seem real to me in the slightest. Not that mom's don't nag you about your weight, but in the long run, a mom -- especially one struggling with her own weight -- is more likely to be sympathetic to your problem. And the harsh reality is that boys, especially teenagers from a wealthy enclave, are likely to be the cruelest critics of all. We are never shown any problems Ana has encounted going to high school in Beverly Hills, surrounded by rich super-skinny Anglo chicks. Isn't she teased and made fun of there? We aren't given a hint. By the way, is it policy in L.A. for high achieving students from inner city neighborhoods to be pulled from their local schools and sent to snotty Beverly Hills? I don't live there so I don't know. All I can say is they don't do it in my community, and with good reason -- why would you deprive local schools of their ONLY good students? and leave them with only underachievers, thus pulling down their overall standards and demoralizing the remaining students. Another shortfall in the movie is Ana's job in her sister's dressmaking business. It's set up kinda like it's a sweatshop, but it's not really -- she works for her kind, lovable sister alongside her mom and some other women. There is no exploitative "overboss" and when a couple women quit, there is seeming no one to replace them. Huh? No lines of unemployed immigrants waiting for low paying jobs? This is a sweatshop fantasy conjured by filmakers who have never been inside a real sweatshop. Also, I couldn't help but think since they are making $600 dress for $18, why don't they just go into business for themselves with a custom dressmaking business? Maybe making dresses for full figured gals? (They are only sewing teeny tiny dresses for rich women.) There are other gaffs -- Ana only starts thinking about college (and getting pushed by her teacher -- AFTER graduation. Doesn't anyone who ever went to college know that students start apply spring semester of senior year (or earlier!)? You don't typically get a full scholarship in late August, just a week or so before school starts. And why Colombia in New York, so far from her closeknit family? California has one of the finest and most affordable public university systems in the country, plus many excellent private colleges, some right in L.A. Ana doesn't seem to even explore the many choices available to her, including part-time schooling, community college etc. The Colombia scholarship just falls out of the sky, like a duex ex machina. Another real credibility stretcher is the idea that Ana has waited until after high school graduation to even experiment with dating or sex. Come on people, what century is this? (...) There is nothing to suggest that Ana is sheltered or even very religious. America Ferrera is a charming young actress. But sadly, unless she loses about 65 pounds, her career will be very limited, maybe a few chubby girlfriend parts at most. There is almost no place on the silver screen for a full figured woman. "Real Women" is a disappointment from every angle. I truly wish this could have been better. This is a real and serious issue for young (and old) women. It deserves a serious, believable treatment, not ABC Afterschool Special fluff that ends happily and uncomplicatedly.
Rating: 
Summary: Uplifting to watch real women characters
Review: The name already hints about the content - which is not disappointing, especially when you see the curvy beauty of "Real Women..'s" heroine. Anna is an intelligent Hispanic girl, about to graduate from high school and encouraged by her professor to continue her studies in college. Anna's mother however has other plans for her: work at her sister's dress factory, loose weight and eventually find a husband. This mother has already given up on Anna's big sister, Estella, and now concentrates her efforts, manipulations and prayers on Anna. Anna herself, ambitious and proud of her body and brains has other plans for herself and she is not the one to be quiet about it.
The tale is not very unique, however truly enjoyable to watch, especially due to the major change - a "real woman" for the main character and not some skinny Hollywood girl. No...the women in this movie are curvy, fat and proud of their stretch marks..The fat-comparing scene, which is one of the movie's climax moments reminds me of Mel Gibson and Rene Russo comparing their scars in "Lethal weapon" and its as funny to watch.
Both Anna and her sister are lovely, real women characters, which immediately receive the viewer's sympathy. Their mother, however, is the one who evokes all possible emotions - ranging from hate to pity to compassion. I must confess I did not know that Hispanic mothers are a true rival to Jewish mothers in their ability to evoke drama and use all possible manipulations in order to make their child succumb to their wishes. This mother (which makes Anna and the viewer alike upset with her constant harassing and comments about Anna's fat) can be pitied and endearing at the same time and you end up understanding the way Anna feels.
Anna grows up to be an impressive young lady who shows in her character a lot of what she received from her parents and family. Maybe not exactly what they wanted or in the same way they hoped for, but no doubt someone a parent can be proud of.
Rating:
Summary: Don't We All Have Curves?
Review: While I'm not a women from a Latino family, I have known and taught "Latin" children. There is a culture that is to be respected. However, I enjoyed seeing this stereotype broken. I really enjoyed this movie. The average size is 14...it's time we saw a movie with female characters who are a "real" size, even in their undies and bras. She went against the grain and opened up the eyes of her mother and sister. (I'd love to see a sequel.) While I enjoyed Jack Black's "Shallow Hal," it didn't do what this movie did. People of all sizes should be respected, can be smart, can be sassy, and most importantly, can be attractive.
Rating: 
Summary: FABULOUS FILM!
Review: A glorious chick-flick about the struggles of being a woman and a young girl and surviving life. It's about a young and brilliant girl consumed in a Mexican family where her mother guilts her everyday of her life, and takes out her own pain on her daughter, guilting her daughter about her imperfections. The daughter remains strong and learns through working with her sister how difficult life can be without an education, and strives to get into a good college, despite the fact that her parents only want her to get married right now and start having babies. And that that is the ONLY thing that matters. Women do not have thoughts or minds, they are only for one thing. Much of the family learns from the youngest daughter what is means to be a real woman, that you are worth so much more than just being a wife and a mother at age eighteen, and it's a beautiful, touching story about real women, not the super-model looking women you see on TV all the time. I highly recommend it. :)
Rating:
Summary: Mothers & Daughters
Review: Fantastic story! Can't wait till my daughters can see it. There are several messages within this "coming of age" story. There are many layers of conflict. A Young Woman faces the world - does she have the courage to find a better life, alone, in New York? The Daughter vs. Mother - will the daughter defy her mother and make her own way or fall into the path of her family? Will she succumb to her mother's manipulating behaviors? Will their conflicts destroy the mother/daughter relationship? Will the daughter see the motivating factors contributing to her mother's feelings? There is also the Maturing Woman facing her change of life - can she accept her aging and let go of her youngest child? In the Mother vs. Daughter conflict - is it fair for the daughter to be able to go further in life than the mother did? The umbrella for all these personal conflicts is the question, should REAL women (with "curves") feel shame about their bodies for not fitting into the "Barbie Doll", size 7 standard that is set by the fashion world? Should big-time fashion buyers take advantage of a struggling small business? This film should be required viewing for women of all ages. Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: "Real Women" is Really Good!
Review: Patricia Cardosa's "Real Women Have Curves" is a touching and humorous comedy/drama about both self-esteem and family.In the story we meet Ana (wonderfully played by America Ferrera) a smart, young, Mexican American, women who has just graduated from high school.With the help of scholarships and financial aid she has the ability to be the first in her family to go on to college. She is at that point in life, where anything is possible.Unfortunately she is opposed by her loving but extremely rigid, Mother (Lupe Ontiveros), who insists that her place and duty is to help with the family's financial survival by working in her sister's small, struggling, dress factory. Ana joins the friendly (and gossiping), female workers in the factory, but eventually she must get on with her life on her own terms.This is a beautiful movie about letting go of a person even though you love them. It is also a film about being proud of who you are. The Ana character is overweight (she's not your typical Hollywood size 2)yet she is proud of herself and sees no shame in her body.This leads to one of the funniest scenes in the movie in which Ana coxes her similarly overweight co-workers to strip down to their undies in the broiling, hot factory! Actress, America Ferrera really is a charismatic force, who just lights up the screen with her talent.The rest of the cast is equally marvelous including Lupe Ontiveros, Ingrid Oliu, George Lopez, Soldad St. Hilaire and Felipe de Alba.This is a wonderfully moving film which I highly recommend! (NOTE: Make sure to watch the film all the way through. After the end credits is a key scene that is important to the story!)
Rating:
Summary: Amazing movie, and wonderful acting
Review: This movie is one of the greatest that I have seen. It really speaks to the thoughts and feelings that women have. America Ferrero did a wonderful job portraying what us "real" women go through. All during the movie Ana (Ferrero) is harped on my her mother about her figure, yet she struggles not, she is happy with herself the way she is, it is so refreshing to see this portrayed. It is so difficult to have a positive self-image now a days and this movie is a wonderful example of how a "chubby" girl can have a positive self-image and truly love herself, and be loved by someone in return. So often it is thought that big girls are not loveable, but this movie proves that is not true, we are loveable and deserve it too. I highly suggest this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Throw Away The Slim-Fast
Review: I was on my way out to make a beer run when Mrs. Mikels asked me to pull up a chair and watch this little movie with her. Well, suds can wait rather than make the wife irate, so I watched REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES. I was pleasantly--but not enthusiastically--surprised. The story of this film has been rehashed and recycled countless times: an extended immigrant family, set in its ways, pitted against a determined youngster determined to set out on his (in this case, her) own. Modified, the conflict centers around a proud, strong-headed mother and her equally proud, strong-headed daughter; Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros) wants her younger daughter to stay at home and help make ends meet by working in the family's East LA dress shop--Ana (America Ferrero) wishes to live her own life, which includes attending college in New York. Of course, we all know how the story will pan out, yet the journey to Ana's destiny is interesting and at times entertaining. This is a coming of age story featuring an independent, overweight young woman who is both comfortable and at peace with her appearance--hopefully an inspiration to women everywhere frantically starving themselves to drop ten dress sizes before their next high school reunion or blind date. And "real" women do have curves, as evidenced by Ana and her rather healthy coworkers stripping to their underwear on a steamy, sticky day in the dress shop. The sight of this hastened my beer run, but it also was quite liberating. The next day, all of us potbellied guys stripped to our boxers over at the freight dock. I just now made bail.
--D. Mikels
Rating:
Summary: Great While It Lasted
Review: There's not much you can say about "Real Women Have Curves" that isn't positive, other than the fact that it's just a little too short for some people (at 86 minutes). This movie has all the parts you're looking for in a good film: real characters, great dialogue, and a story that you actually care about. I've never been big on spoiler reviews, so I'll just say that I find it hard to believe that anyone could watch this movie and not be moved by the down-to-Earth feel that it possesses. No super-models, glam queens or hunky heroes...just real people in real an all to real life scenario.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This was a great movie, I think that it did a really good job at portraying what life is like for so many in the world. This movie shows you that not everyone has to fit into one type to work in Hollywood. I would recommend anyone to see this. It was a great movie!
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