Sugar cane worker Dorita Evita Perez (Marisa Tomei) is looking for a brighter Hollywood life. Political prisoner Juan Raul Perez (Alfred Molina) is released with the Mariel boatlift. The two Cuban refugees of the same last name are mistakenly put together as husband and wife by Immigration officials. He has not seen his real wife Carmela Perez (Anjelica Huston) for 20 years who is in Miami with their daughter Teresa Perez (Trini Alvarado). Carmela's brother Angel Diaz comes looking for him and finds him with Dorita as his wife. Lt. John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri) is investigating and gets close to Carmela. Dorita pushes Juan to stay together to get a sponsor. She mistakes Hollywood, Florida for Hollywood, California and is devastated when she's told that John Wayne is dead. After collecting more members, the new Perez family sets off to find their way.
Marisa Tomei is effervescent and brash. This may work better if it stayed only with her and Molina. I'm less sure about his family in America. They seem to be trying to be comedic which doesn't always work. I'm not sure about what Angel is doing. That side of the movie complicates the romance. The love story gets twisted into a pretzel. I can't help but wonder if it would be infinitely sweeter to have Juan find Teresa at the end of the movie with a daughter he never knew existed. Instead, it's all complicated by Angel and diverting romances.
Marisa Tomei is effervescent and brash. This may work better if it stayed only with her and Molina. I'm less sure about his family in America. They seem to be trying to be comedic which doesn't always work. I'm not sure about what Angel is doing. That side of the movie complicates the romance. The love story gets twisted into a pretzel. I can't help but wonder if it would be infinitely sweeter to have Juan find Teresa at the end of the movie with a daughter he never knew existed. Instead, it's all complicated by Angel and diverting romances.