I love Marisa Tomei's acting ability and expected a lot from this movie because of her. She is, in fact, the unchallenged star, and the film is clearly a must-see for her fans. However, I didn't think the story itself worked as a romantic comedy - - there's a child murdered as a plot point, for heaven's sake! It could have worked as serious drama, and occasionally drifted in that direction, but 'drift' is the operative word here. Even some of the attempts at comic elements, such as the naked 'father-in-law', the paranoid brother-in-law, and the ironic by-play between the federal agent and the police woman seemed forced and contrived. And the romantic tension between Angelica Huston and Chaz Palminteri is non-existent, although we are supposed to believe it overcomes the love she has maintained for 20 years for the husband left behind in Cuba - and now restored to her. Watch this film for a great Marisa Tomei performance, but don't expect much more.
Review of The Perez Family
