Mambo Café (2000) User Reviews

enjoyable fluff

[beardouk · 6/10 · 11 November 2001]

Not sure what the makers were planning - but they weren't going for any deep comments on the position of hispanics in modern America.

This is lightweight to the extreme - but on its own terms quite enjoyable.

Even my wife (who is a MASSIVE fan of Thalia) felt the film was disappointing.

Delightful Film

[inkblot11 · 25 January 2004]

Nydia (Thalia), a student at Boston University, comes home to Spanish Harlem between semesters. Her mother and father own the small Mambo Cafe where business is slow. To give their restaurant a higher profile, the owners invite a mobster to the restaurant. Their hope is that he will be rubbed out in their establishment and that the notoriety will improve their cash flow. Meanwhile, Nydia thinks she's in love with a snooty college student, even though handsome homeboy Manny holds her in high esteem. Will the family's plans succeed?

This movie invites viewers to enjoy a good laugh and a good feeling, even considering the darker elements of the plot. The restaurant's owners are a hard-working duo with plenty of charm and grit. Likewise, Thalia is utterly beautiful and enthralling as the daughter with man trouble. Then, too, the setting allows the viewer to experience an environment that may be different from his or her own. Recommended for romantic comedy fans and comedy fans in general. A fun evening of entertainment awaits those who seek it out at the video store or library.

After you've seen it, you'll know why you'd never heard of it

[QAGuy · 1/10 · 12 January 2004]

About the only good thing about this film is that it has apparently put an end to Thalia acting career. You might think that anything Paul Rodriguez and Danny Aiello are in on can't be all bad, but this one comes close. I fast forwarded through over half the movie, and I still didn't miss anything (except maybe the chance to see a good film). An intriguing premise falls apart under the weight of a witless script and wooden performances. Just say no.

Unsuccessful attempt to picture latins in New York

[antai · 3/10 · 17 March 2003]

The theme of this movie could be interesting because I don't think there are a lot of light comedies using the scenario of the latin people living in New York. The story could be potentially funny, but in this case they try it too hard and simply don't make it happen. The acting doesn't help either, Thalia is just awful trying to portray a puertorrican from the Bronx, when she barely knows how to speak English(the accent and slang are so fake). I think it could have MAYBE worked better if they had cast someone like J. Lopez or any other latin actress.

This would have been a better parody had they cast Warner Brothers cartoon characters in the leads.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 25 April 2022]

It's obvious that the script was going for over exaggeration, which would have been fine had the film actually been funny. I don't expect films like this to be a realistic portrayal of certain neighborhoods, and living in East Harlem, I can say, I never felt like I was watching my neighborhood on screen. Paul Rodriguez never seems like he's Puerto Rican here, and while he's likable and amusing, he is completely miscast. He's a complete buffoon, running a Puerto Rican restaurant in Spanish Harlem with wife Rosanna DeSoto (who is more believable), he's standing outside as a giant weed blows by. Daughter Thalia comes home from college as dad is about to embark on a scheme to bring more business to the restaurant by arranging for a hit on a mobster to occur so business will improve.

This film has so many negative stereotypes of Hispanics and Italians . After a while, I didn't have to feel guilty about laughing at them anymore. The laughter had stopped early on. In fact, it became so ridiculously cartoonish. It was too stupid to be considered bad taste to be worth being offended over. Danny Aiell, Robert Constanza and Kamar de Los Reyes co-star. The best part of the film is the opening segment that shows of the upscale parts of Midtown Manhattan, and slowly moving up town until the squalor of Harlem in the early millennium. Thalia is a bland actress, and a kid playing the younger brother is also filled with ridiculous stereotypes. When Thalia puts on a Carmen Miranda outfit, she looks exactly like Bugs Bunny did. For a film with Hispanic creators about a Hispanic family, it's a complete disappointment because outside of the mother, none of these characters acted like any sober Hispanic (or my Italian relatives) of any background I've ever met. A near complete disaster.

Why was I the only one in the room laughing my butt off?

[rooprect · 7/10 · 7 May 2012]

Right from the beginning I was lolling. That made it really uncomfortable because the rest of the people in the room were dead silent, and the embarrassment made me laugh even harder. Whether this movie warrants hyena-like laughter, I don't know. But it sure was an entertaining evening.

This movie has a quirky style that has to hit you just right for you to appreciate it. At times it borders on absurdist comedy (Airplane, Monty Python) but doesn't quite go all the way, instead striking a delicate balance between real & ridiculous. For example, the movie opens at a restaurant that's so desolate, their only "customer" is a homeless guy getting a freebie. Outside, tumbleweeds blow by. Tumbleweeds in New York City, c'mon that's hilarious! We soon realize that this film is very much tongue-in-cheek, and truly nothing is to be taken seriously. Though subtle, the movie is full of satire, like when a yuppie family walks into the restaurant in Spanish Harlem, and the yuppie mother says to the kid: "you see, foreigners like to wear colorful things on their heads because they worship different gods."

Funny stuff, I'm tellin ya. And we haven't even gotten to the part where Danny Aiello makes his appearance as Joe the ruthless mafia boss who inexplicably breaks into song every 15 minutes. Each & every character is so memorably wacky you gotta love em, from the gorgeous Nydia (Thalía) to her spastic father (Paul Rodriguez), and even the painfully repulsive mobster (perfectly played by Robert Costanzo) who becomes the center of a crazy, morbid scheme to attract business to the failing restaurant. If you go into this movie with the intent to laugh & have a good time, I think you definitely will.

Lots of light fun

[RNMorton · 9/10 · 18 December 2002]

Puerto Rican family with nice restaurant in Spanish Harlem can't attract enough customers to keep creditors at bay. Another restaurant with a recent mob hit has lines waiting for tables. Word on the street is that Fat Tony, local mob guy, is about to go down. You fill in the blanks. The real chemistry is in the young leads, who are excellent, along with Danny Aiello as a really wacky mob guy. Sometimes similar to Big Fat Greek Wedding - watching an average day with this cast would be fun, the plot doesn't really matter. Give it a look.

Great movie!

[rcola827 · 29 January 2006]

Mambo Cafe did what it was supposed to, which was to introduce Latin singer and actress Thalia to a new audience. Thalia is one of Mexico's biggest star. Her albums and soap operas has been sold in many different countries. Thalia gave a great performance, for someone who was barely learning the English language.The made for TV movie has a good plot to keep you attached to your seat. Mambo Cafe is funny and entertaining. I would like to see Thalia in more movies, I think she has great potential. Paul Rodriguez gives the performance that he is known for. His great comedic timing will keep you laughing. Mambo Cafe also introduced actor Rick Gonzalez. Gonzalez in known for his work in The Rookie, Old School, War of the Worlds, and in the upcoming films Pulse and First Snow.