2002-03-29 | 10:55 a.m.

corduroy licorice paid his debt to society. a debutante named shirley had loaned him $100 during a cotillion to cover his bar tab and he'd finally settled up with her.

***

last week i saw two foreign movies.

jacques demy's lola and alfonso cuaron's y tu mama tambi�n.

i liked lola beaucoup, but y tu mama tambi�n only un poquito.

porqu�?

i just expected more from y tu mama tambi�n. i guess that's not fair. i should judge a movie by what it is, not by what i expected walking into it. may i compare it to a summer's sundress? it was as sexy, charming, flirty and fun, but ultimately, there wasn't much too it.

one complaint was that the narration was really distracting. first of all, they cut off the sound mid-conversation/mid-song right before the narrator was going to speak each time. i kept thinking something was wrong with the projector, even after i realized what was going on. the narration included a lot of extra information that only paid off a couple of times. by slapping on some voiceover, it seemed that the filmmakers were trying to add political and philosophical substance to their offering. unlike salsa on a fish taco, it added no flavor.

i would still recommend the film. many of the locations are gorgeous and it's interesting to see the backroads mexico the movie travels. the soundtrack is terrific (though it's not what you might expect either) and the characters are very likeable and attractive and fun to watch. it's a very good-natured, sexy roadtrip they take together...but ultimately, this is an artistically done teen sex comedy.

now lola, on the other hand, was a true delight. originally released in 1961, it is a gorgeously shot black and white film directed by jacques demy. it's kind of a low-key romantic comedy. anouk aim�e is adorable in her role as a caberet performer who is nursing a 7-year-old heartbreak and struggling to raise her 7-year-old "love child" on her own. while she wistfully waits for a man who may never return, she is beckoned by two suitors. the first is an american sailor on shore leave (played by alan scott, an apparently french actor who sounds freaking hilarious doing a deadpan american accent...that alone is worth the price of admission) and a handsome, but bored and brooding, childhood friend of hers (the hunky actor marc michel). i walked out of that movie feeling as light as a feather and full of romantic inspiration. merci, monsieur demy, merci!

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