Rating: PG13
Genre:
Comedy Drama
Theatrical Release: 10/18/2002(USA
Release Date: 09/06/2005
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD2/DD5.1
Run Time: 86 Minutes
Flags: Adult Language, Sexual Situations, Watch With Your Teen
Distributor/Studio: HBO Home Video
In this independent
drama,
Ana (
America Ferrera) is a bright and ambitious 18-year-old Latina who has just graduated from high school in East Los Angeles.
Ana wants to broaden her horizons and go on to college, but her mother
Carmen (
Lupe Ontiveros) has other ideas;
Ana's older sister
Estela (
Ingrid Oliu) oversees the family business, a dress factory, and
Carmen has decided that
Ana should put higher education on hold and go to work as a seamstress. When
Estela loses four employees in a week,
Ana reluctantly agrees to take a job at the factory to help her out, while she applies for college scholarships without her mother's knowledge.
Ana's job at the dress factory proves to be a real eye opener; she gains a new respect for
Estela's business acumen, but is also appalled by the low wages and unpleasant working conditions that are part and parcel of the garment industry. While
Ana is not unattractive, she carries more than a few extra pounds, a subject her mother mentions at every available opportunity, and as
Ana encourages her co-workers at the shop to stand up for themselves and gain a greater perspective of their own worth, she takes a long hard look at her own self-image.
Real Women Have Curves won the Audience Award at
the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, while actresses
America Ferrera and
Lupe Ontiveros received a Special Jury Prize at the same festival for their performances.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide