A Day Without a Mexican

We were looking forward to this one. It’s a great idea: All the Hispanics in Cahleefornia disappear one day, and the state is cut off from the rest of the world. It’s a situation ripe for satire, and there are a few laughs here and there. But the execution is dismal. The acting is bad, the cinematic technique is non-existent, and it switches right in the middle from light-hearted to soapy drama. The message is driven home with a sledgehammer. The movie literally stops to deliver facts and statistics. A real stinker. For a more thoughtful examination of the Hispanic situation in the US, I’m waiting for The Tortilla Curtain, based on an excellent novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle.