THE MAMBO KINGS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1992 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: THE MAMBO KINGS shows us a period of
entertainment history rarely if ever dramatized on film. But
the people we see are just of tepid interest and the story,
while nicely textured, does not engage the viewer. Rating:
low + (-4 to +4).
There are by now *a lot* of films about popular music in the 1950s. They are nearly all about rock and roll, and treat the coming of rock with a reverence usually accorded only to major world events. The impression you get is that music before rock and roll was all pretty dull stuff like opera and "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" though there are begrudging nods to jazz. It is true that Latin music was also very popular in the Fifties and I do not remember seeing a post-1960 film that has ever acknowledged that popularity. THE MAMBO KINGS breaks the mold and tells the story of a middlingly popular Latin band, their ups and downs. Unfortunately, there is somebody in your family whose life was every bit as interesting as the life of Cesar Castillo (as played by Armand Asante). The story has some action, but it is almost all in the first ten minutes. The rest of the film is just a bland story.
The year is 1952 and Cesar and Nestor Castillo (the latter played by Antonio Banderas) are playing good music in a Havana nightclub. Unfortunately, the boss has eyes for Nestor's girl, Maria. Maria decides to go with the boss after some arm-twisting. The boss is ready to kill Nestor to be rid of him, and gives this message to Cesar. Not wanting to see his brother's throat cut, Cesar convinces Nestor to come with him to New York. Cesar succeeds in impressing Tito Puente (playing himself forty years younger), but fate steps in to screw up the Castillos joining Puente's band. Instead, we see the Castillos forming their own band. The film follows their career, their loves, and their disagreements. The story is at best lackluster and occasionally descends into soap opera. This sort of laid- back story-telling may appeal to fans of THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS.
I personally have only limited interest in Latin music so quite surprised myself by enjoying some of the numbers. But the story is just too little about too many things. It tells of the Castillos' love lives and their family lives. It shows them doing a little creating of their music. It shows them deciding if they should give control to a promoter who could give them big-time bookings, but who will insist on being a boss. And we see them at their day jobs in a meat-packing plant. Meanwhile, Nestor pines for his Havana girlfriend, forever rewriting a song dedicated to her. Armand Asante goes a long way to make this film watchable. He is a fine actor, certainly, though I would more recommend that the viewer find his BELIZAIRE THE CAJUN, which was a much better film that this condensation of a Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel. Also notable in the cast are Celia Cruz as a popular entertainer and Roscoe Lee Browne as the semi-sinister promoter.
THE MAMBO KINGS starts well, but never really says much of interest. I would give it a low +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
att!mtgzy!leeper
leeper@mtgzy.att.com
.
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