Tortilla Soup
Encyclopedia
Tortilla Soup is a 2001 American comedy-drama
film directed by Maria Ripoll. The screenplay by Tom Musca, Ramón Menéndez, and Vera Blasi is based on the film Eat Drink Man Woman
, which was written by Hui-Ling Wang, Ang Lee
, and James Schamus
.
) shares a suburban Los Angeles
home with his three adult daughters. Although he has lost the senses of smell and taste since his wife's death, he still cooks elaborate, multi-course meals for his family and friends. The women humor their father's old-fashioned ways, but each is searching for fulfillment outside the family circle.
Leticia (played by Elizabeth Peña
), the oldest and most conservative of the three, is a repressed high school
chemistry
teacher who abandoned Catholicism
to become a born-again Christian. Middle daughter Carmen (Jacqueline Obradors
) shares her father's passion for food but has stifled her dream of owning a restaurant in favor of pursuing a more stable career as a business analyst. Maribel (Tamara Mello
), the youngest, is hip and slightly rebellious.
Frequently present in the Naranjo home are newly divorced family friend Yolanda (Constance Marie
), her young daughter April, and her visiting mother Hortensia (Raquel Welch
), who has set her sights on Martin and is determined to make him her next husband, unaware his attention is focused on someone else.
Maribel is drawn to handsome Brazil
ian student Andy after her co-worker rejects him and, after they briefly date, she invites him home for dinner, during which she blithely announces she is moving in with him, much to her father's consternation and Andy's shock, since they never had discussed elevating their somewhat casual relationship to this next level. Before long she is rearranging his small apartment and unintentionally making him increasingly uncomfortable as she imposes herself in his life.
Meanwhile, Leticia finds herself attracted to Orlando Castillo, who coaches baseball at her school, when she begins to receive passionate love letters she believes are from him, unaware they actually were written by her students. Carmen is offered a high-profile job in Barcelona
, and half-heartedly agrees to accept it, although soon after her father drives her to the airport she returns home, determined to follow in her father's footsteps and open a restaurant of her own.
Leticia and Orlando elope, Maribel and Andy break up and reunite, Martin marries Yolanda, and everyone gathers for a family meal at Carmen's new restaurant.
The meals featured in the film were prepared by celebrity chefs Mary Sue Milliken
and Susan Feniger
who, as hosts of the Food Network
program Too Hot Tamales, introduced viewers to their contemporary take on traditional Mexican cuisine. The Production Design was by the Argentine designer Alicia Maccarone.
The film's soundtrack includes "Sem Contencao" by Bebel Gilberto
, "Cuchi-Cuchi" and "Si Estuvieras Aqui" by Los Amigos Invisibles
, "A Ballar" by Patricio Castillo
, "Si En Un Final" by Eliades Ochoa
, "Call Waiting" by Zap Mama
, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" by Lila Downs
, "Les Portes Du Souvenir" by Les Nubians
, and "Amado Mio" by Pink Martini
.
.
Elvis Mitchell
of the New York Times called the film "forgettable" and "as predictable as a fast-food restaurant." Although he thought it "has more warm, likable actors and agile performances than this material merits," he felt their "exuberance goes a long way, but not far enough."
Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
called the film "a warm human comedy that has no great deep message but simply makes us feel good" and added, "Tortilla Soup follows a familiar formula, in which the movie opens with everyone unmarried and we suspect it will have to end with everyone happily paired-off. But the movie is cast so well that the actors bring life to their predictable destinies, and Elizondo casts a kind of magical warm spell over them all."
Ken Eisner of Variety
called the film a "warm-blooded winner with equal emphasis placed on taste buds and heartstrings" and continued, "Easy to swallow is the decision to completely avoid issues of ethnic and economic conflict, making this genuine crowd-pleaser an utterly gang-and-drug-free look at Hispanic subculture. And it's one that all families can relate to - especially at dinnertime.
in Bread and Roses
for the ALMA Award
for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and the film tied with Bread and Roses for the Imagen Foundation
Award for Best Feature Film.
format with audio tracks and subtitles in English and Spanish. There are no bonus features.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film directed by Maria Ripoll. The screenplay by Tom Musca, Ramón Menéndez, and Vera Blasi is based on the film Eat Drink Man Woman
Eat Drink Man Woman
Eat Drink Man Woman is a Taiwanese film directed by Ang Lee and starring Sihung Lung, Yu-wen Wang, Chien-lien Wu, Kuei-mei Yang. Many of the cast had starred in Ang Lee's previous film, The Wedding Banquet with Sihung Lung and Ah Lei Gua once more playing central elderly figures, and Winston Chao...
, which was written by Hui-Ling Wang, Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...
, and James Schamus
James Schamus
James Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter The Ice Storm and producer Brokeback Mountain, and is CEO of Focus Features, the motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company whose films have included Lost in Translation, Milk, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The...
.
Plot
Semi-retired Mexican-American chef Martin Naranjo (Hector ElizondoHector Elizondo
Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award...
) shares a suburban Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
home with his three adult daughters. Although he has lost the senses of smell and taste since his wife's death, he still cooks elaborate, multi-course meals for his family and friends. The women humor their father's old-fashioned ways, but each is searching for fulfillment outside the family circle.
Leticia (played by Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
), the oldest and most conservative of the three, is a repressed high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
teacher who abandoned Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
to become a born-again Christian. Middle daughter Carmen (Jacqueline Obradors
Jacqueline Obradors
Jacqueline Danell Obradors is an American actress.Obradors was born in San Fernando Valley, California to Argentine immigrants Angie, a church worker, and Albert Obradors, an office cleaning business owner. Before becoming an actress, Jaqueline was a cashier at Hughes Market in Canoga Park,...
) shares her father's passion for food but has stifled her dream of owning a restaurant in favor of pursuing a more stable career as a business analyst. Maribel (Tamara Mello
Tamara Mello
Tamara Beccam Mello is an American actress. Her career began in 1993 with appearances on various television programs and films...
), the youngest, is hip and slightly rebellious.
Frequently present in the Naranjo home are newly divorced family friend Yolanda (Constance Marie
Constance Marie
Constance Marie Lopez is an American actress. Known professionally as Constance Marie, she is known for her role as Angie Lopez on George Lopez and for her role as Marcella Quintanilla in the 1997 film Selena...
), her young daughter April, and her visiting mother Hortensia (Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...
), who has set her sights on Martin and is determined to make him her next husband, unaware his attention is focused on someone else.
Maribel is drawn to handsome Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian student Andy after her co-worker rejects him and, after they briefly date, she invites him home for dinner, during which she blithely announces she is moving in with him, much to her father's consternation and Andy's shock, since they never had discussed elevating their somewhat casual relationship to this next level. Before long she is rearranging his small apartment and unintentionally making him increasingly uncomfortable as she imposes herself in his life.
Meanwhile, Leticia finds herself attracted to Orlando Castillo, who coaches baseball at her school, when she begins to receive passionate love letters she believes are from him, unaware they actually were written by her students. Carmen is offered a high-profile job in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, and half-heartedly agrees to accept it, although soon after her father drives her to the airport she returns home, determined to follow in her father's footsteps and open a restaurant of her own.
Leticia and Orlando elope, Maribel and Andy break up and reunite, Martin marries Yolanda, and everyone gathers for a family meal at Carmen's new restaurant.
Production
The film was shot on location in El Segundo, California, USA and Los Angeles, California, USAThe meals featured in the film were prepared by celebrity chefs Mary Sue Milliken
Mary Sue Milliken
Mary Sue Milliken is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and radio and TV personality working mostly on Latin cuisine in the United States.- Restaurants :...
and Susan Feniger
Susan Feniger
Susan Feniger is an award-winning American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and radio and TV personality considered to be a leading authority on Latin cuisine in the United States.-Restaurants:...
who, as hosts of the Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
program Too Hot Tamales, introduced viewers to their contemporary take on traditional Mexican cuisine. The Production Design was by the Argentine designer Alicia Maccarone.
The film's soundtrack includes "Sem Contencao" by Bebel Gilberto
Bebel Gilberto
Bebel Gilberto is a Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle is singer/composer Chico Buarque...
, "Cuchi-Cuchi" and "Si Estuvieras Aqui" by Los Amigos Invisibles
Los Amigos Invisibles
Los Amigos Invisibles is a multiple-Grammy nominated and Latin Grammy winning Venezuelan band that plays a blend of disco, acid jazz and funk mixed with Latin rhythms...
, "A Ballar" by Patricio Castillo
Patricio Castillo
Patricio Castillo is a Spanish-Chilean vocal actor, performer, singer and songwriter. He became well known for his roles in the Spanish language performing songs for HBO's Flight of the Conchords, Happy Feet, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride.-Career:In 2007, Castillo was signed as...
, "Si En Un Final" by Eliades Ochoa
Eliades Ochoa
Eliades Ochoa is a Cuban guitarist and singer from Loma de la Avispa, Songo La Maya in the east of the country near Santiago de Cuba....
, "Call Waiting" by Zap Mama
Zap Mama
Zap Mama is a Belgian musical group founded and led by Marie Daulne. Daulne says her mission is to be a bridge between the European and the African and bring the two cultures together with her music...
, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" by Lila Downs
Lila Downs
Lila Downs is a Mexican singer-songwriter. She performs her own compositions as well as tapping into Mexican traditional and popular music...
, "Les Portes Du Souvenir" by Les Nubians
Les Nubians
Les Nubians is an R&B Grammy-nominated duo composed of sisters Hélène and Célia Faussart from Paris, France. In 1985 the sisters moved with their parents to Chad. Seven years later, they returned to Bordeaux, France, and began singing a cappella, producing poetry slams in Bordeaux and Paris, and...
, and "Amado Mio" by Pink Martini
Pink Martini
Pink Martini is a 13-member "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They draw inspiration from music from all over the world – crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.-History:...
.
Featured Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Hector Elizondo Hector Elizondo Héctor Elizondo is an American actor. Elizondo's first major role was that of "God" in the play Steambath, for which he won an Obie Award... |
Martin Naranjo |
| Jacqueline Obradors Jacqueline Obradors Jacqueline Danell Obradors is an American actress.Obradors was born in San Fernando Valley, California to Argentine immigrants Angie, a church worker, and Albert Obradors, an office cleaning business owner. Before becoming an actress, Jaqueline was a cashier at Hughes Market in Canoga Park,... |
Carmen Naranjo |
| Elizabeth Peña Elizabeth Peña Elizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:... |
Leticia Naranjo |
| Tamara Mello Tamara Mello Tamara Beccam Mello is an American actress. Her career began in 1993 with appearances on various television programs and films... |
Maribel Naranjo |
| Raquel Welch Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be... |
Hortensia |
| Paul Rodriguez Paul Rodríguez Paul Rodriguez is a Mexican-American stand-up comedian and actor.-Personal life:Rodriguez was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México to Mexican agriculture ranchers.. His family migrated to East Los Angeles, where he enlisted in the military; he was stationed in Iceland and Duluth, Minnesota... |
Orlando Castillo |
| Constance Marie Constance Marie Constance Marie Lopez is an American actress. Known professionally as Constance Marie, she is known for her role as Angie Lopez on George Lopez and for her role as Marcella Quintanilla in the 1997 film Selena... |
Yolanda |
| Marisabel García | April |
| Nikolai Kinski Nikolai Kinski Nanhoï Nikolai Kinski is a film actor, and the only acknowledged son of the prolific actor Klaus Kinski and his third wife, Minhoi Geneviève Loanic. He is the half-brother of actresses Nastassja Kinski and Pola Kinski. Nikolai was born in France, but was raised in California, United States... |
Andy |
| Julio Oscar Mechoso Julio Oscar Mechoso Julio Oscar Mechoso is an American actor. He is occasionally credited as Julio Mechoso.Mechoso is a character actor in both television and film. He has appeared in several high-profile films, such as Grindhouse, Bad Boys and the controversial Ken Park. His television credits include Miami Vice,... |
Gomez |
| Judy Herrera Judy Herrera Judy Herrera is an American actress. She graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Manhattan.-Cinema:*The Postman , directed by Kevin Costner : Carrier*Melting Pot , directed by Tom Musca : Dolores... |
Eden |
| Ken Marino Ken Marino Kenneth Joseph "Ken" Marino is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He was a cast member on MTV's The State and on the Starz comedy Party Down. He currently co-stars on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital.-Early life and career:Marino was born in West Islip, New York to an... |
Jeff |
| Troy Ruptash | Hairdresser |
| Louis Crugnali | Catering Assistant |
| Joel Joan Joel Joan Joel Joan is a Spanish Catalan actor, screenwriter and director.He studied drama at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona. He created the theatre company Kràmpack in 1994 and he has been the administrator of Arriska Films since 2000.... |
Antonio Urgell |
| Ulises Cuadra Ulises Cuadra Ulysses Cuadra Jr. is an American actor and voice actor involved in cinema, television, and animation. English-language TV audiences may recognize him as the voice of Vaz on Clifford the Big Red Dog, and of Twister Rodriguez on the Nickelodeon animated series Rocket Power and Segura on Disney... |
Snide Student (as Ulysses Cuadra) |
| Mark de la Cruz | April's Classmate |
| Eli Russell Linnetz | April's Classmate |
| Stoney Westmoreland | Baseball Umpire |
| Karen Dyer | Rachel |
Critical reception
The film was fairly well-received by critics, earning a 73% "fresh" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell is an American film critic, host of the public radio show The Treatment, and visiting lecturer at Harvard University. He has served as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the LA Weekly, The Detroit Free Press, and The New York Times...
of the New York Times called the film "forgettable" and "as predictable as a fast-food restaurant." Although he thought it "has more warm, likable actors and agile performances than this material merits," he felt their "exuberance goes a long way, but not far enough."
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
called the film "a warm human comedy that has no great deep message but simply makes us feel good" and added, "Tortilla Soup follows a familiar formula, in which the movie opens with everyone unmarried and we suspect it will have to end with everyone happily paired-off. But the movie is cast so well that the actors bring life to their predictable destinies, and Elizondo casts a kind of magical warm spell over them all."
Ken Eisner of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film a "warm-blooded winner with equal emphasis placed on taste buds and heartstrings" and continued, "Easy to swallow is the decision to completely avoid issues of ethnic and economic conflict, making this genuine crowd-pleaser an utterly gang-and-drug-free look at Hispanic subculture. And it's one that all families can relate to - especially at dinnertime.
Awards and nominations
Elizabeth Peña tied with Elpidia CarrilloElpidia Carrillo
Elpidia Carrillo is a Mexican actress who has appeared in various acclaimed Latin-American films and television shows, in addition to some Hollywood films. She is also credited as Elpedia Carrillo on some of her films....
in Bread and Roses
Bread and Roses
The slogan "Bread and Roses" originated in a poem of that name by James Oppenheim, published in The American Magazine in December 1911, which attributed it to "the women in the West." It is commonly associated with a textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts during January-March 1912, now often...
for the ALMA Award
Alma Award
The American Latino Media Arts Award, or ALMA Award is a distinction awarded to Latino performers who promote positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment field...
for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and the film tied with Bread and Roses for the Imagen Foundation
Imagen Foundation
The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry"....
Award for Best Feature Film.
Home media
The film was released on DVD on January 15, 2002. It is in fullscreenPan and scan
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects...
format with audio tracks and subtitles in English and Spanish. There are no bonus features.