ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 13, 1995                   TAG: 9505150074
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`PEREZ FAMILY' MISSES THE BOAT

"The Perez Family" is a slowly paced comedy-drama that's never particularly involving and is only sporadically funny. It's unusual in that a fairly high-voltage cast is put in the service of a thin story.

The setting is Miami, 1980, during the Mariel boat lift. Juan Perez (Alfred Molina) has been locked in a Cuban jail for 20 years. Dorita Perez (Marisa Tomei), no relation, works in the cane fields and as a prostitute. They find themselves on the same small boat heading for Key West.

Dorita has no one waiting for her, and that's a serious problem. Without a sponsor, there's a long wait to get the right papers and she's determined to meet John Wayne and Elvis.

Juan's wife Carmella (Anjelica Huston) lives in Miami, and can't believe that they'll finally be reunited. But things don't work out and connections are missed. Juan and Dorita are kept waiting in the Orange Bowl while Carmella begins to suspect that her husband is dead. At the same time, Carmella meets John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri), an FBI agent, and sparks fly between them.

Dorita, ever resourceful, decides that if she doesn't have a family, she'll create one out of any unattached Perezes she happens to meet.

Writer Robin Swicord and director Mira Nair let the story amble along at an unhurried pace despite the fevered emotional state of their characters. The acting is understated with one notable exception. Marisa Tomei adopts a broad Latin accent and when she really cuts loose, not a stick of scenery is safe.

With its curiously equivocal ending, "The Perez Family" deserves more credit for good intentions than execution.

The Perez Family **

A Samuel Goldwyn Co. release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 110 min. Rated R for strong language, subject matter, brief nudity. 


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