Raising Victor Vargas (2002)

Fresh and Exciting

Admirable film.

A lot of fun.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

i think this is a good movie if you want to know about boy teenagers or teenages in general life in 2002. this movie has a lot of sexual stuff and shows how the oldest man in this house is looked up to by their younger brother.this movie is a little harsh because the main character curses a lot at his sister and teenagers curse a lot. this is a good movie to show how the love life was in 2002 also and how today's world is different

Victor is a brash teen who sees himself as a player. His younger sister Vicki catches him with neighbor Fat Donna and tells everyone. At the pool with best friend Harold, he tries to talk up Judy but she won't have any part of him. She's there with best friend Melonie and brother Carlos. Victor promises Carlos to set him up with Vicki for an intro to Judy. Victor lives with Vicki, brother Nino, and his grandmother.Victor is such an annoying self-obsessive lip-licking caricature male teen that it's nearly impossible to root for him. He is aggressively trying to throw the audience by being a jerk. It makes it an unappealing watch for most of the first half. It does have an authenticity about the young characters. It would be easier to make it darker rather than being a light romantic comedy. It could have also been better to make Judy the protagonist rather than Victor. Carlos and Vicki are funny secondary relationship.

Raising Victor Vargas (2002): Dir: Peter Sollett / Cast: Victor Rasuk, Altagracia Guzman, Judy Marte, Wilfree Vasquez, Melonie Diaz: Standard romantic comedy about growth and generations. Victor Vargas has the top reputation of scoring with women in his neighbourhood until he is caught having sex with an overweight woman. He decides to ask out the new girl in town but after being rejected he bargains with her younger brother to set him up. In return Vargas will set him up with his sister. His strict grandmother takes a dislike to his behaviour and the example he is setting for his younger siblings. Fine setup hindered by formula and an ending that seems to justify teen sex. Directed with insight by Peter Sollett with an engaging performance by Victor Rasuk as Vargas who may get off with too much. Altagracia Guzman is superb as his grandmother who struggles to maintain the virtue of her household. Unfortunately Judy Marte as the new girl is standard issue predictable romance tired of being hit on by boys but ultimately accepts Vargas who will have her in the sack before the credits roll. Wilfree Vasquez as her anxious younger brother steals scenes as he provides information in hopes for a romantic reward. Message is strong but the filmmaking is amateur at best. Theme indicate the difficulties in raising anyone let alone Victor Vargas. Score: 5 ½ / 10

This is an exceptionally good movie. What it does so clearly and well is to display the relationship between teenagers' romantic interests and their social status in the larger teenage society around them. The teenagers in this movie are all trying to establish a respectable place for themselves among their peers and having a girlfriend/boyfriend is a big part of that. The real problem is how to manage these things without becoming an egoistic monster. So Victor pursues Judy to salvage his reputation as a successful ladies' man and preserve the admiration of his friends and his younger brother. Judy, who is unusually inexperienced despite her hot looks, accepts Victor to avoid the crass sexual attentions of the neighborhood boys. But this isn't even half the story. Victor also has real respect for women, although he has to hide this to appear macho. Judy similarly likes boys but has to hide that, even from herself, in order to preserve her self-respect. Victor likes Judy because she treats him with a brutal honesty (despite her lie about already having a man); Judy likes Victor because he defers to her—he pursues her in his clumsy adolescent way, but agrees to be ruled by her, so she doesn't feel so threatened. Victor and Judy establish a good relationship by the end: it obviously makes both of them happy and they both benefit from it in ways that are important to them. You can argue that this is a pretty rudimentary basis for a relationship, but when one is 14 or 15, good rudimentary relationships are an achievement. The two are very sweet, and very immature, and will grow and develop. Similarly the relationship between Melanie (very well played by Melanie Diaz) and Harold. They are not explored in the same depth, but one can see the same process at work. Melanie sorts out her relationship with Judy vs her relationship with boys, and Harold overcomes his appalling awkwardness. They each gain status in the community as well as real personal growth. One doesn't know whether this relationship will last beyond a few days or weeks, but it doesn't matter—both are the better for it. So the movie shows a lot of respect for its characters and gives them real depth and humanity.