2002, R, 105 minutes

In many ways, film critics are similar to cattle, and seeing as my reviews are posted on a web site featuring a cow as its mascot, it's more than a little ironic that I always try to avoid becoming one of the herd. Like cows, critics are manipulated to move in a certain direction, except instead of cowboys and horses they are guided by studios and marketing departments and commercials and pre-release buzz, but most of all they seem to be swayed by the opinions of other critics. A few reputable names applaud a film and before you know it the smaller guys (and gals) feel pressured into doing the same.

This is especially true when it comes to movies made in any language other than English, Y tu mamá también being the latest example. It's one of those raw, little foreign films and some people believe they're more sophisticated if they announce it as brilliant, as if they could speak Spanish and therefore have a deeper, truer understanding of what's going on. Well let me tell you, as a California native I happen to speak a little Spanish, and this flick is the most overrated piece of cinema to come out in years. It's not bad and I don't want to give the impression that I'm really down on it, but the people who are proclaiming it to be some kind of Mexican The Graduate either haven't seen The Graduate in a really long time or have succumb to the herd mentality of the critical community.

I suspect the sub-titles are playing a huge factor in the way this film has been received. You see, much of the film is consumed by narrative voice-overs, telling us about the characters, their friends, families, communities, and also providing some information about Mexico's history and current developments. But if this had been in English, I can guarantee you critics would be ripping it to shreds for simply telling us all of these things and actually showing us very little.

The film basically consists of a number of overly graphic sex scenes, a collection of conversations about sexuality, friendship and fidelity, and because it has a few poignant moments towards the end (and a good twist) we're suddenly supposed to be enlightened? Sorry, not in my book - I require more than an honest story and a few philosophical musings. Sure, what's really going on aside from a road trip is an older woman initiating two teenage boys into adulthood not through sex but through truth and the discovery of genuine feelings, but is it really very interesting or moving? The twist at the end does help to provide a little more depth and also explains a few mysteries, although I wonder if it would have been more meaningful had the information been revealed earlier in the story.

Y tu mamá también does have its moments, I must admit, and some of the humor is rewarding and at least the characters are realistic, but why it has received such acclaim is beyond me. Surely some people will say that I don't understand what it's really about and just don't "get it," but the truth of the matter is that I do get it and I simply don't find it all that remarkable.