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TORTILLA SOUP Send This Review to a Friend
Good ideas can often transcend national boundaries. Ang Lee's "East Drink Man Woman," a film mixing food and family life, was set in Taipei. Presto! With a new script by Tom Musca, Ramon Menendez and Vera Blasi, director Maria Ripoll follows the inspiration of the original, changes the ethnicity to Mexican-American, with food to match, and moves the action to California. The good news is that the switch not only works but gives the basics a delightfully fresh new look.
The tone, of course, is completely different. Lee's characters were much more laid back in keeping with their culture. The characters in "Tortilla Soup" are more animated and volatile. Here the household head, a master chef who is losing his sense of taste, is Martin Naranjo, played to the hilt by Hector Elizondo, who colorfully gives the role authority and passion. He reigns over elaborately prepared meals at home and expects his family to attend and be appreciative of his skills. A widower, Martin seeks to direct the lives of his three daughters, each of whom has a different agenda.
Jacqueline Obradors plays Carmen, who is attractive and successful. Should she take the exciting new job in Barcelona? She also loves to cook. Tamara Mello plays Maribel, who is due to go to college. But there's a young man in her life, played by Nikolai Kinski. What's a girl to do? Elizabeth Pena has the best role of the sisters as Leticia, at first an up-tight sour-faced schoolteacher who is fixated on God. It's an amusing part that allows her to blossom dramatically after she receives what she thinks are love letters from the school baseball coach, played appealingly by actor-comedian Paul Rodriquez. For good measure, there's still great-looking Raquel Welch as Hortensia, a grandmother who has her heart set on marrying Martin. Welch brazenly tears into the role and makes Hortensia an over-the-top, grasping, conniving vixen who is also quite funny.
There is overkill in the family dramatics, but the performers are entertaining, and as for the food, chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger get credit for the sumptuous spreads that are an integral part of the film's allure. Make sure you have a good meal planned afterward, as what you see on screen is appetite-whetting. A Samuel Goldwyn Films release.
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