Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32020 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-10-07
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Subtitled, PAL, Widescreen, Dolby, Digital Sound
• Original language: Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you're in need of a teen road movie that's more than a collection of "tit-n-bum" jokes, then look no further than Y Tu Mama Tambien ("And Your Mother Too"). Alfonso Cuaron (yes, the director signed up for Harry Potter 3) has managed to create a sexy road movie without a single cheerleader popping up in anyone's bed. Instead he brings together a strong cast of Spanish/Mexican actors--including the rising star Gael García Bernal and the enigmatic Maribel Verdú--with a heady mixture of dusty roads and raging hormones.

Leaving the poverty and grim reality of Amores Perros (the other hit Mexican movie of recent times, also starring Bernal) far behind, Y Tu Mama Tambien is set among the upper classes where two teenage friends, Julio and Tenoch, are left in a state of limbo when their girlfriends take a trip to Europe. But rather than resting on their laurels, they choose to chase a much bigger prize: Tenoch's cousin's wife, Luisa. When she takes up their offer to go on a trip to a mystical beach, the boys can't believe their luck; little do they know that Luisa is using them as a means to run away and forget. Here begins the boys' trip towards adulthood as they learn to control their hormones, jealousies and selfishness. Y Tu Mama Tambien's explicit scenes are more than mere titillation, just as the plot is more than a simple sex comedy. --Nikki Disney

Video Description
DVD Special Features:
Me La Debes (You Owe Me) - 12 minute short film
Deleted Scenes
Audio Interview with Director Alfonso Cuaron
Cast & Crew Biographies
Soundtrack (4 song playlist)
Making of Featurette (22 mins.)
No One Under 17 Admitted featurette
UK Trailer
TV & Radio Spots
Promotional material - posters & awards list
Screenplay Extracts (6 screens)
Ratio 16:9
Language: English & Spanish

Synopsis
This beautifully filmed, expertly acted film about two 17-year-old, middle class Mexican boys on summer break is deceivingly complex. The basic plot of the film is that best friends Tenoch (Diego Luna, BEFORE NIGHT FALLS) and Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal, AMORES PERROS), who think of nothing but sex, convince a beautiful 28-year-old woman, Luisa (Maribel Verdu), to go on a road trip with them to a nonexistent beach. They get lost. They flirt and giggle and fawn over Luisa hoping to win her over with their boyish charms. And that's about it. But that simple plotline merely provides structure for the poetry and meaning that is woven into the film with photography and narration. Periodically throughout the film, while the action continues normally, the sound stops. A voice over then gives information--sometimes a brief biography of one of the characters (birth date, name of father and mother, consequences of birth, primary childhood experiences), or a note about what each of the characters is really thinking, or a news report or historical comment that brings Mexico's tangled politics into the context of daily life. Never is the voice connected to a character in the film. It simply floats. Meanwhile, underwater photography, roving shots of the Mexican countryside, and affectionate close-ups on the characters communicate a solemnness that is not present in the plot. All of these pieces fit together easily, resulting in an excellent, whole, thoughtful film.

Customer Reviews

"Smells Like Bread!"
Scandalously under supported by the British multiplex fraternity this delicious Mexican coming of age movie has been released on Dvd for you lucky peopel. Recent trends in cinema have bucked the notion of spectacle and bombast replacing it with rounded characterisations and plot driven indie movies. Arguably the New France, Mexico has become all the rage showcasing maverick directors and interesting films! Guillermo del Torro (Chronos, Others, Blade 2), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros) and this movies Director Alfonso Cuaron (Great Expectations and soon to be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabhan)
Two teenagers, Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal from Amores Perros) and Tenoch, (Diego Luna) who spend time doing parties, grass, masturbating and experimentation to fulfil the voids in their lives. Privileged Tenoch is son to a politician and Julio son of a secretary, their friendship (charolastras) and subsequent code (as brilliant as it is simple) has been solid since birth. With little to do in a crowded city, the pair hoodwink an older relative's attractive wife- Luisa - (Maribel Verdu) to accompany them on a journey to 'Heaven's Mouth', a beach they have just made up in a hope to get lucky. To their surprise she accepts and not for the most obvious reasons and so it begins - one of the best movies of recent years. Eclipsing even the mighty 'Amores Perros' at the Mexican Box Office.

The characterisations are spot-on in this intelligent road movie and from the off set you are either gonna like it or hate it. Luna and Bernal clearly have a wail of a time, as they are best friends in real life, as such the chemistry is clear to observe. The pacing is fast, the conversations faster and the opening scene features an arse bobbing up and down in youthful coitus. In less assured hands (Cuaron also writes) this could easily have descended in to an uneasy sex farce with nothing new or original to say as it is this a heart warming, deeply moving tale of friendship, puberty, sex, trust and mothers.

In terms of cinematography again Cuaron excels; crisp flurried movement, detailing city/landscapes with vistas and confident use of contrast. The irreverent plot lines and genius narrative offset against these visuals are delightful and juxtapose the realism with fairytale diversions offering, at times, a biting social commentary.

The trio of would be 'life evacuees' revel in a script of an unparalleled sense of fun, mischief and sincerity - the insults, trade off's and counter arguments are exchanged in scatter shot perfection. Luna and Bernal are outstanding and Verdu smoulders suitably, the epitome of femme fatale who may, just may tear the boys apart and break their code forever.

Cuaron masks a dark tale behind light moments of human observation and pointed humour. The existential angst and the pseudo link for travel and growing up is set within an exuberant balance of emotion (watch out for the not so hidden subtext). The end message is particularly poignant and endures even the most hardened filmgoers to examine his or her childhood experiences...

Not one for the kiddies!
The glory of our teenage years. Glamorous, perfect, enlightening. Thankfully this kind of misguided adult dross is absent from Cuaron's work. As a teenager myself, I could completely relate to the ideas expressed in this film.

Teenage sexoholics Julio and Tenoch desperately attempt to seduce older woman Luisa with a promise of a road trip to a mythical beach called Heaven's Mouth. On the way, the three compadres discover hatred, jealousy, love and alienation. And they have lots and lots of sex.

This is an incredibly sexy film in every way. Cuaron lingers over the young and beautiful stars without being perverse, allowing us to appreciate the positive and negative aspects of particularly Julio and Tenoch. Mexico is similarly revealed to us during their road trip, warts and all, violence and crime as much a part of their trip as the breathtaking scenery. The characters they meet shape their journey, and soon the audience is involved, willingly or not, in the events of the holiday.

This film is funny, smart, sensual and exotic. But above all, it is beautiful, and though the characters may seem repellent from the outset, by the time I reached the achingly poignant final meeting of Tenoch and Julio I had fallen in love, in different ways, with all three characters.

This film also provides a wonderful insight into Gael Garcia Bernal's rising talent.

I thoroughy recommend Y Tu Mama Tambien. Just don't watch it with your parents!

Not one movie but three!
Yes, you get a puerile adolescent sex movie worthy of the Porky's and American Pie tradition, though somewhat better made even if the sex itself would not satisfy the connoisseur (the lovely actress deserved far better!) Then you get a reasonably good road movie with beautiful Mexican locations, including the mythical beach in search of which the journey began.

But beneath this mask there is a fine character study through the development of relationships and conflicts, with a well-judged final twist that avoids the Hollywood habit of shaking the saccharin bottle too vigorously. Watch Y Tu Mama Tambien for this alone, even if you ignore the remainder.