Rating: 
Summary: Mother-Daughter
Review: I watched this movie with my 2 college daughters and their friends. We discussed this movie afterwards and found that no
matter what family you were from, we could all relate to any
one of the women in this movie. It was a tremendous expression
of self motivation, success, strength and independence. We are who we are - no matter what. A recommendation for all.
Rating: 
Summary: East LA: Hopes, Dreams and Reality
Review: This is a relatively short (one hour twenty minute) reasonably well made independent film that is worth your time if you like movies that incorporate a message without being either depressing or preachy. The messages are simple and incorporated in a well told although familiar story of conflict between the dreams of a daughter and the supposed practicality of a mother. First, understand and accept who and what you are but, second, always to continue to believe in the possibilities of what you can become in the future. America Ferrera does a wonderful job in the role of Ana, a high school senior in East LA who has excelled in school while having to work part time and who is encouraged by her high school counselor to apply for a college scholarship. This puts her in direct conflict with her mother Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros), who believes Ana's future should be to help in her older sister Estelle's struggling dress factory while finding a husband and starting a family. (Carmen is deeply disappointed Estelle is still single.) Carmen wants Ana to face who she is in Carmen's eyes, an overweight teenager from a poor family whose dreams have no relation to the small crowded house in a marginal neighborhood that Ana's dad maintains by working as a gardener. And, Carmen definitely wants her family to stay together, not "lose" Ana by having her go to NYC to attend Columbia when she does get offered a scholarship. The conflict with her mother as Ana stuggles to emerge from the world of of a still somewhat naive teenager to that of an adult is the all consuming focus of the movie, and the two main characters handle the tension from that interplay very well. The director injects enough humor to keep the film from being at all depressing, one of the highlights is a great scene in Estelle's "sweat shop" with all the women celebrating their curves to the disbelief of Carmen. I was glad that I saw this film; it presents the message in a straightforward way and it was interesting to see Ana's progress towards maturity and how she came to terms with her guilt regarding her relationship with her mother. Nevertheless, be warned, this is not a MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING or BARBERSHOP - either in the production qualities or as an examination of minority views and life. It is a bittersweet view of a small slice of life with a hopeful but inconclusive ending (as is usual in life). This is for a very particular audience, and while I understood the viewpoints of those reviewers who rated it more highly, it definitely did not rise above three stars for me since to give a higher rating I definitely have to want to see the film again and that is not the case here.
Rating: 
Summary: Great inter-play between Ferrera and Ontiveros
Review: "Real Woman Have Curves" has the aura of 100% believability. Although the entire cast is excellent, this film centers around the tetchy mother-daughter relationship wonderfully portrayed by astonishing newcomer America Ferrera and consummate professional Lupe Ontiveros. It embodies the pressures facing a second-generation Latina daughter vs. the expectations and disappointments of her hard-edged (but ultimately loving) immigrant mother. For a great take on what made their performances so great, check out Entertainment Weekly's 2002 "Special Year-End Double Issue" (the one with Denzel on the cover). The magazine rightly tabbed the Ferrera/Ontiveros duo as one of 2002's "Great Performances," noting that they give us "the real picture: the everyday growing pains, the cherished moments of tenderness, and the full-out battles that shape the complicated dynamic of this (or any) mother-daughter pair." Exactly.
Rating:
Summary: As funny as it is serious.
Review: 'Real Women Have Curves' depicts one teenagers attempts to fully realize her academic potential, internal beauty and overall self-assurance. As the youngest girl from a stern Mexican American catholic family, Ana is forced to choose between satisfying her mother by taking a job in the family's dress making business or satisfying herself by accepting a scholarship to the prestigious Columbia College of New York. It was apparent to me early in the film that Ana is a woman in full control of her destiny and her desires. Her choice to experience sex and her ultimate decision to defy her mother's wishes, are evident of a determination and self-assuredness that not only carry the film but should also serve as an example for young women who have fallen prey to the notion that thin is in. The movie is as funny as it is serious and great performances are rendered by the entire cast. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Best Body/Self Acceptance Movie I've Seen
Review: If you can,patronize this movie! It was a wonderful film with a smart, strong-willed, plus-sized, smart-mouthed teenage girl as its protagnist(Ana played by America Ferrera with wonderful realism). Although it is set in East L.A. and deals with the Mexican-American experience, there are none of your stereotypical elements--teen pregnancy, gangs, killing, or your general socially irresponsible behavior. It had realistic family dynamics. Many of the people left the theatre stating that the mother in the movie (or the sister or the grandpa) reminded them of their real life equivalent. The general message of the movie was to accept yourself for who you are and not be afraid to live outside the box--whether it's being a fat girl in a thin-obsessed society or deciding to go to college instead of the family tradition of going to work after high school. (Ana and her mother clash over the place of women in society. Ana's mother selfishly belives that Ana should go to work and skip college, although she's smart enough for a full scholarship, because she had to start working at age 13.) The best part of the movie is at the sweatshop/factory where Ana strips off her shirt because she's so hot.(They're not allowed to turn on the fan because dust will blow onto the dresses.) Her mother is aghast because Ana is such "a butterball." The other women there then start whipping off their clothes to show their "flaws." Soon, you have 4 women on the screen who are wrinkled, fat, flabby, celluite-laden standing in their underwear. Why was this the best part? Because they were all beautiful. Ana says she doesn't want to change her size because it's a big "f*ck you" to the skinny-obsessed society. All the women in the theater clapped at this point. It was a feel good movie that was well made.
Rating:
Summary: Great Analysis
Review: This is a great film which hits on all sorts of subjects we encounter in our lives...just from a particular perspective of America Ferrara's character's perspective. The film is simple but bold and it challenges our media-cultivated ideals about beauty! It is a refreshing show and it is not cluttered with unrealistic or depressing ideas.
Rating:
Summary: Can Flan ruin your life?
Review: The director/screenwriter, Patricia Cardoso and the co-screenwriter George LaVoo of "Real Women have Curves," have devised a movie centering around some very fascinating subjects: how we perceive ourselves, how other's perceive us and the friction and or disparity between the two. At the center of this story is a proud, hard-working Mexican American family: mother Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros) and her youngest daughter Ana (America Ferrera). Ana is an honor student and valedictorian of her graduating high school class. Her dream is to accept her scholarship at Columbia University and to escape the narrow confines and thinking of her East Los Angeles neighborhood and family. But mother, Carmen has other ideas: Carmen wants Ana to forgo college for awhile and to work in Ana's sister's garment factory so as to help support the family.
On top of this, Carmen is continually nagging at Ana to lose weight. "How do you expect to find a husband and have children with all that weight on you?" Carmen asks Ana. It is to Cardoso's credit that Ana has a very positive body image and of course it doesn't hurt that America Ferrera is quite lovely and imbues Ana with a sort of fierce and dynamic determination that makes people stand up and take notice not because of her size but because of her mind.
On the surface Carmen's plans for Ana seem cruel and small minded but in reality it is a natural trait of first generation immigrants to place family about all else. Ontiveros plays Carmen not as an ogre but as a woman who fears for her daughter's safety in the outside world. What Carmen doesn't realize is that Ana has inherited her courage and presence of mind from her and her husband: Ana is a product, the physical manifestation of Carmen's wishes and dreams of a better life for her children and herself.
The set piece of "Real Women have Curves" is a scene in the garment factory when all the women, lead by Ana, decide to shed their clothing initially because of the heat. There is a palpable feeling of exaltation and release in this scene on several levels: "curvy" women not being embarrassed to disrobe and expose their bodies that becomes a universal call to all women to embrace their physical selves and to reject what society and our culture dictates as the female ideal. In essence, all females are ideal is what Cardoso is saying.
"Real Women have Curves" is a small film with the nerve and the guts to question and then supply answers to some of the stuff our culture bombards us with daily. Stuff that can either stifle you...or make you stronger and more resolute.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: Real Women Have Curves: They story is basic. America Ferrera is graduating from high
school and while her teacher, played by George Lopez, is encouraging her
to go to college, her family, especially her mother, is under the belief
that she should stay in her place and work in her sister's factory. We
then have the generation gap and clash between America's character
wanting to reach out and gain her potential and her mother wanting to put
her in her place with comments on her quick tongue and her weight. Seems
"Mommy Dearest" feels the only way her daughter will get ahead is to be a
size 2 or less and get herself a good man. Fortunately America's
character is happy with herself the way she is.
I liked this one a lot. I found it to be relatively original in it's
design and construction. It kept me awake (which is a big plus these
days). The characters were all richly drawn out and the Hispanic
heritage was ample throughout. I had seen the America Ferrera in more
than one Disney Channel movie (yes, my daughter is an infant) and found
her usually to be pretty good. Here, in a more grown up role she was
superb. Definitely and independent worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful film!!!!
Review: What constitutes a real woman? That's one of many questions delved into by filmmaker Patricia Cardoso in her fresh, frank, funny, and insightful Sundance favorite, Real Women Have Curves, adapted from a play by Josefina Lopez. Newcomer America Ferrera plays Ana--a spunky, funky, and chunky Latina teenager living in East L.A. She finds herself struggling to break free from the responsibilities and expectations of her mother, Carmen (a brilliantly funny and touching performance by Lupe Ontiveros) and sister Estela (Ingrid Oliu). While My Big Fat Greek Wedding broke box-office records in 2002, Real Women Have Curves did a better job showing us what's real. This comedic drama takes on a familiar subject--a bright but underappreciated teenager struggling to find her identity--and turns into an authentic celebration of girl power, while showing us how a real family acts and feels. This is a wonderful film, perfectly paced, funny and touching. It is a unique and refreshing change of pace, even for an independent film. It is definitely one of the best films of 2002. See it!
Rating:
Summary: It inspired me
Review: This movie is a beautiful, harsh and realistic portrayal of what it's like to grow up as a Latina in a poor family. Newcomer America Fererra is a brilliant actress and just breathes life and beauty into the character of Ana. Despite her mom played wonderfully by Lupe Ontiveros trying to turn her into something that she's not, in the end she follows her dream of going to college and proves to everyone that she has something to offer. Finally a movie with real women, proving that skinny doesn't always mean beautiful. After watching this movie it made me be happy with the way that I look, that I was, I mean I am beautiful. This movie made me tear up, laugh, smile because for the first time in my life I loved myself for who I was: a real woman with curves.
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