The Perez Family is an American comedy film released in 1995 about a group of Cuban refugees in America who pretend to be a family. It stars Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Anjelica Huston, Chazz Palminteri, and other well-known actors. It was based on the 1990 novel The Perez Family by Christine Bell. The film was directed by Mira Nair.
The film is centered around a group of unrelated people who share the last name "Pérez" and who realize they could more easily stay in America if they pretend to be a family. Set in 1980 during the Mariel boatlift, the movie shows Juan Raúl Pérez (Alfred Molina), a former aristocrat and newly released political prisoner, seeking to return to his wife, now in America, after 20 years. Dottie Pérez (Marisa Tomei) is a former prostitute, who Juan meets. U.S. Immigration officials assume the two are married, because of the common last name. The potential for a real romantic relationship between the couple sets the basis for much of the rest of the film.
Contents
Cast
Marisa Tomei as Dorita Evita Pérez
Alfred Molina as Juan Raúl Pérez
Anjelica Huston as Carmela Pérez
Chazz Palminteri as Lieutenant John Pirelli
Trini Alvarado as Teresa Pérez
Celia Cruz as Luz Pat
Ranjit Chowdhry as Indian Immigration Official
Diego Wallraff as Ángel Díaz
Ellen Cleghorne as Officer Rhoades
Angela Lanza as Flavia
Jose Felipe Padron as Felipe Pérez
Lázaro Pérez as Armando "Papi" Pérez
Bill Sage as Steve Steverino
Vincent Gallo as Orlando
Billy Hopkins as Father Aiden
Ruben Rabasa as Father Martínez
Melissa Anne Acosta as Isabel
Archival footage of Jimmy Carter and Fidel Castro also appeared in the film.
Reception
The Perez Family holds a score of 60% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.0/10, based on 20 reviews.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack composed by Alan Silvestri was released by Music Box Records, paired with his score for Clean Slate.