"A Day Without a Mexican"

Directed by: Sergio Arau

Starring: Yareli Arizmendi, Caroline Aaron, Melinda Allen and Maria Beck

Rated: Not rated (some adult language, mild drug and sexual innuendoes)

Running time: 79 minutes

Best suited for: cultural or socially astute hard-liners

Least suited for: no one else need apply

Acorn’s Rating Guide:

What a great premise.

What an uninspired and trivialized delivery.

In "A Day Without a Mexican," director Sergio Arau’s "mockumentary"—a mildly sardonic social satire––California’s 8 million Mexicans mysteriously disappear for a day. They leave behind only bumbling Anglos to ponder and gradually realize how deeply we miss those people who, in director Arau’s reality, collect our trash, pick our fruit and clean our homes.

Frankly, the film’s uneven and misplaced comedic attempt to portray the typical Mexican’s plight in California only minimizes what could have been a blistering delivery on a very real and controversial issue. The film does a grave disservice to both Mexicans and Anglos and, at its worst, could do more harm than good as any sort of stepping stone in multicultural relations.

I left "A Day Without a Mexican" feeling no personal impact from the loss of over one-quarter of California’s population (according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 8.5 million of the state’s 32 million residents are Mexican). I was neither swayed nor remotely galvanized by the loss. In reality, the resulting social ramifications would be significant: such absence would inflict economic, sociological and political chaos—points mostly missed by this haphazard effort.

I found the film also potentially insulting to both professional Mexicans (doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists) and to most Anglos, who are portrayed as so spoiled and needy as to be rendered incapable of making breakfast without the assistance of a Mexican housekeeper. The observation of uncluttered highways and a nearly desolate L.A.—do Mexicans really own so many cars?—seemed more of a rush-hour blessing than curse.

The major flaw in "A Day Without a Mexican" is director Arau’s choice to humanize his characters instead of symbolizing the social significance they represent. Giving them worried families and inconsequential story lines mires the film in a soap-opera silliness instead of driving home significant points about the issue. Much of the film seems more like an "SNL" skit than any sort of intelligent commentary.

Another flaw is the director’s decision to concoct an "X-Files"- type rationalization to the mass disappearance. Could illegal aliens really be space aliens? Could this be some kind of terrorist plot? Could the mysterious fog bank circling the state of California (more silliness) be some paranormal disturbance? Frankly, who cares? If true social satire, the disappearance is hardly relevant. The result of the disappearance is—should be—the heart and essence of the film that hooks the audience and, if the filmmaker does his job, sways opinion.

Other than the occasional statistic that scrolls across the screen, very few facts about the issues are revealed. Nor does the film make any distinction between legal Mexican citizens and illegal immigrants––one of the most significant and controversial topics in Southern California these days in terms of taxes, healthcare, life quality and cultural relations. Imagine how beneficial a well-researched and well-scripted commentary might have proven?

There are a few acrid points cleverly rendered—Arau mocks the media and Anglo politicians—and a few cute scenes as well, but a film like this should squeeze emotions and discomfort audience to the squirming point. "A Day Without a Mexican" did nothing more than slightly amuse me now and then.

In a nutshell: Despite a decent premise, "A Day Without a Mexican" should appeal to only a small and curious group of the socially aware—and even they will likely feel shortchanged at the film’s tepid pace and weak delivery. Too bad, because the film could have been an educational, even inspirational, eye-opener for those 24 million Californians who didn’t disappear for a day.