Casi divas (2008)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

What looks like a lighthearted comedy winds up giving strong messages in "Casi Divas," a 2008 film.The story concerns a "Scarlett O'Hara" type nationwide search for a telenovela character for a feature film. She's played on TV by a temperamental diva Eva (Patricia Llaca) who is furious she's not doing the movie, but the film will harken back to the character's more ingenue and virginal days...Eva's been playing the role for a while now.Out of a massive campaign - based on a true story of a similar casting call where 100,000 Mexican women turned up - four become finalists. One, a blond, Ximena (Ana Layeska) comes from a wealthy family, will do anything for the role; Francisca (Maya Zapata) is from Oaxaca, and she is discriminated against because she is Indian; Catalania (Diana Garcia) is from Juarez, where young women disappear and are turned out as prostitutes. Finally, Yesinia (Daniela Schmidt) plays a woman with a secret.After all the auditions and Miss America type questions, Eva's attempts at seducing the creator of the show, Ximena jumping Alejandro (Julio Bracho) in his vehicle, the film turns quite serious. Each of these young women finds out who they are and what they want through the process. It's quite moving.I can't dissect this film the way true Mexicans have - these women are supposedly all stereotypes, the town of Juarez is misrepresented as a vast wasteland, etc., but the film does show up some of Mexico's problems under the guise of comedy.One problem I had was that, to me, Yesinia was completely wrong for the role, yet she is in the finals. Her role is important, but perhaps it could have been cast better so she fit in. Nevertheless, the cast does a fine job.

I checked out this DVD at the library. I was expecting it to be a ditzy comedy about young debutantes with a lust for fame. While this may be somewhat true, Issa Lopez depicted the characters as human beings. The movie revolve around 4 young women and the Diva, Eva Gallardo. The women's paths cross when they audition for a reprise of "Eva Enamorada".There is Yesenia, an intersex woman who may be bisexual (depending on one's interpretation). She is a hairdresser in a lower class community in Mexico city. She deals with a lot of gender discrimination. Her family is loving and supportive, though a bit chaotic (in a funny way). She wants to transcend her mundane life as a famous actress.Ximena Lizarraga is a rich girl from Guadalajara. She is very insecure about her body because she was a chubby child. Her childhood love interest ridiculed her. She subjected herself to 4 surgeries and rigorous diets in order to have a model figure. She wants the leading role in order to vindicate herself and exact revenge on those who called her 'foca' (seal in Spanish).Catalina is a maquiladora worker from Juarez. Initially her biggest motivation to be the next "Eva Enamorada" is for safety reasons. Her life in Chihuahua is hell, and she unsuccessfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. A few of her friends have disappeared. The local thug, Satan, is an organized criminal capable of anything.Francisca is an indigenous woman from Oaxaca. She is a rural woman with strong family values. Frank is proud of her heritage and has strong convictions about Mexico's treatment of its Native Indians. She is the only literate person in the village. She travels to the audition to make her family proud and hopefully shatter negative attitudes about dark skinned people. She learn a lot about herself as a woman during the auditioning process.Eva Gallardo is a 30ish soap opera diva who is unapologetic about throwing tantrums on set when things do not go her way. She has a dark past that always haunts her, and makes her insecure. She has a love-hate relationship with Alejandro, the producer of Eva Enamorada. They often engage in mudslinging; and in a strange way that is the way that they show love for each other. She does anything to knock out potential competition.It is true that these characters are stereotypes, but all comedies are based on stereotypes. This way, everybody gets it and can laugh at each others differences. The movie strikes a delicate balance between a drama and a comedy (a dramedy). I enjoyed the way that the movie did not have a one size fits all happy ending. One or two characters had a 'happy ending' and the rest had the Cinderella experience (think about what happened at 12 midnight).In our fame obsessed society one could take this as a commentary on celebrity. Even though we all know that an actor's job is to be on TV, it is easy to sometimes believe the hype that one is bombarded with. Their bodies are imperfect; and they have blemished backgrounds. They are just like us, only with an army of PR experts, makeup artists, fashion and computer designers (i.e. Photoshop) and a little more money.

I thought long & hard to come up with a word that describes how I felt after seeing this film. That word, believe it or not, is "enriched".Packaged as a comedy about the silliness of stardom, CASI DIVAS is actually a brilliant social satire that opened my eyes to the amazing, diverse culture south of the border, something that we Americans know so little about. The film focuses on four characters from different regions of Mexico vying for national fame, each having her own unique driving motivation. We get one rich girl, one farmer girl, one street-smart urbanite, and one oppressed worker girl. Each of the four characters is apparently an extreme stereotype of a region, and this may border on offensive if you happen to be from one of those areas, but isn't that what a social satire is supposed to do?The motivations of each of the girls are what make the film so interesting. It shows us that the different cultures within Mexico have immensely different lifestyles, desires and dreams. What's great is that the film doesn't attempt to prioritize one over the other but rather shows us how immeasurable they are against one another. Is one girl's desire to escape the factory any less valid than the rich girl's desire to be as thin and glamorous as her social class dictates? Is the farmer girl's desire to experience life any less valid than the urbanite's desire to show the world she can overcome city prejudices? Each in her own turn, the characters win you over and make you realize how conflicting interests can manage to live together, whether in Mexico or in your own neighbourhood.The film itself is presented as a pseudo-mockumentary. I say 'pseudo' because some scenes have the characters talking to the camera while other scenes are traditionally shot from an omniscient perspective. It's unusual but very effective. I think the scifi DISTRICT 9 (another brilliant social satire) took the same approach. Being that this is a comedy, it instantly made me think of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries (BEST IN SHOW, WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, MIGHTY WIND, etc), and I think if you like those films you'll like this too.Many scenes had me laughing out loud, especially the slapstick scenes which were done just right (physical comedy is an art form unto itself). But what I loved was the way the movie avoided the predictable cat-fighting between contestants. Instead, most of the conflict came from family members, jilted lovers and shady peripheral characters. This made it unpredictable and entertaining up to the very end.One other thing I wanted to mention is, even though this is a satire, it doesn't descend to sarcasm or cynicism. This gives the whole film a very upbeat & cute presentation, despite its pointed message. It's refreshing to see that filmmakers are still capable of tackling heavy issues while remaining light-hearted.On top of it all, it packed some really powerful human moments that did not seem contrived at all. In fact, you realize that these human moments are what the movie is all about. I highly recommend this movie because it covers all the bases. Comedy, drama, social commentary, and some great lookin babes to boot.By the way, you can currently find this DVD for $2 in the bargain bin at your local Blockbuster. If you pick up a copy, you will not regret your purchase!

Im from Ciudad Juarez, the place where Catalina lives (where women are killed O_o). It is true that all the characters are in the stereotype of each place, Guadalajara, Oaxaca, Ciudad Juarez, Nezahualcóyotl. But, in fact, almost everything in the movie is stereotyped: Clothes, what happens in the TV studios, our government, and lots more. The accent of the girl from Juarez was TOTALLY FALSE. I was thinking "Who the H*ll in Juarez speaks like that???". It is also fun to see that all the city is transformed into a complete desert, without any building O_o. There are A LOT of places that represents wonderfully the city, and Issa López used some scrubs, desert, sand and cactus instead (I haven't seen a real cactus in the city... oh! I did! there was one of 3" tall in an office) The movie goes directly to all the Mexican discriminated minorities: homosexuals, natives, poor, etcetera. If we try to see the movie as the identical copy of the reality, it will surely fail.BUT, I as a Mexican had a lot of fun watching at this movie. This is because, even though it is stereotyped, we can recognize some national flaws. We need to recognize that not all the movies have to be educational. This is, (even if we like or not) a way Mexicans can laugh a little about their own problems, in which a catharsis can be done, and we can relief all our stressed society