Luminarias

 Posted on March 24, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1340 words  |  Reinaldo Massengill

Luminarias" attempts to do for Latinas what "Waiting to Exhale" did for black women. Centering on a quartet of chic Chicano chicksfrom East L.A., this sleek, spirited romantic comedy discards the prevailing screen stereotype of Hispanic women as gang mothers, hookers or maids to depict four well-heeled professional gals searching for love. While it's overly schematic and performed with the kind of unbridled verve usually reserved for sitcoms, this slick indie production --- made for less than $ 1 million --- is warm, funny and consistently entertaining. A popular title in the San Sebastian fest, it should work in Latino territories and could find a niche in the U.S. via the right specialist distrib.

Luminarias” attempts to do for Latinas what “Waiting to Exhale” did for black women. Centering on a quartet of chic Chicano chicksfrom East L.A., this sleek, spirited romantic comedy discards the prevailing screen stereotype of Hispanic women as gang mothers, hookers or maids to depict four well-heeled professional gals searching for love. While it’s overly schematic and performed with the kind of unbridled verve usually reserved for sitcoms, this slick indie production — made for less than $ 1 million — is warm, funny and consistently entertaining. A popular title in the San Sebastian fest, it should work in Latino territories and could find a niche in the U.S. via the right specialist distrib.

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Husband-and-wife team of director Jose Luis Valenzuela and screenwriter-actress Evelina Fernandez shopped the idea unsuccessfully for feature-film financing before developing it as a hit play for the Latino Theater Co. at the LA Theater Center. The material was then remodeled as a film vehicle, which was set up through the Sleeping Giant stable the duo founded with actor-producer Sal Lopez and funded entirely with individual donations from the Latino community.

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Sandwiched between their Mexican roots and the Anglo culture in which they live, the four friends meet regularly at plush nightspot Luminarias to dish about love, family, career and sex. The women are Andrea (Fernandez), a divorce lawyer; Sofia (Marta DuBois), a therapist; flamboyant clothing designer Irene (Dyana Ortelli) and visual artist Lilly (Angela Moya). Each of them must deal with her own prejudices and those of society as she attempts to cash in on the unpredictable relationships market.

In the process of divorcing her philandering husband (Robert Beltran), Andrea unexpectedly finds herself attracted to an attentive Jewish lawyer (Scott Bakula) despite her firm conviction that white guys are interested in Latinas only as exotic chattel. Sofia, on the other hand, has a taste for gringos and has turned her back on her Eastside upbringing in an effort to fit in with white folks. But a passionate young Mexican waiter (Lopez) who barely speaks English takes her by surprise. Lilly, who has a history of involvement with unemployed illegal aliens, finds bliss with Korean Lu (Andrew C. Lim), but hasn’t anticipated his parents’ racist attitudes. Man-magnet Irene is struggling to accept her cross-dressing gay brother (Geoffrey Rivas) and has sworn off sex for Lent.

Tossing in plenty of upbeat music, director Valenzuela keeps the pace brisk and the tone buoyant enough to mask the inconsistencies of Fernandez’s screenplay. The script pushes a lot of obvious buttons and perhaps attempts to cover too many bases, making the film’s take on the social issues it skims — discrimination, marital abuse, interracial relationships — seem a little simplistic at times. While it’s well played, a dramatic subplot involving Andrea’s feisty client Cindy (Seidy Lopez), in a legal battle to get custody of her son from her violent ex-husband, is not as seamlessly integrated into the lighter surroundings as it could be.

But the film succeeds in its principal aim of conveying the importance of community and friendship and portraying how four smart, contemporary women from a specific ethnic background come to grips with issues of independence, identity and love in a culture that regards them as outsiders despite their being native-born and -raised.

Reprising their stage roles, the four leads — all of them given to some enjoyably ripe overacting at times — are engaging and attractive, and the supporting ranks are highlighted by amusing appearances from strong character players including Cheech Marin and Lupe Ontiveros.

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Luminarias

(ROMANTIC COMEDY-DRAMA)

  • Production: A Sleeping Giant production in association with July Street Entertainment. (Intl. sales: Sleeping Giant Prods., Los Angeles.) Produced by Sal Lopez. Co-producer, Mina Vasquez. Directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela. Screenplay, Evelina Fernandez.
  • Crew: Camera (FotoKem color), Alex Phillips Jr.; editors, Terilyn Shropshire, Jeff Koontz; music, Eric Allaman; production designer, art director, Patssi Valdez; costume designer, Bernie White; sound (Dolby SR), Sergio Reyes; associate producer, Pepe Serna; assistant director, Bryan Goeres. Reviewed at San Sebastian Film Festival (Made in Spanish), Sept. 22, 1999. (Also in L.A. Latino Film Festival.) Running time: 101 MIN.
  • With: Andrea ..... Evelina Fernandez Joseph ..... Scott Bakula Sofia ..... Marta DuBois Lilly ..... Angela Moya Irene ..... Dyana Ortelli Cindy ..... Seidy Lopez Joe ..... Robert Beltran Pablo ..... Sal Lopez Jesus ..... Cheech Marin With: Fidel Gomez, Angelina Estrada, Lupe Ontiveros, Mike Gomez, Liz Torres, Geoffrey Rivas, Andrew C. Lim, Pepe Serna, Richard Coca.

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