DVD Review

The Real Cancun

Coming from someone who absolutely refused to see Real Cancun in a theater, this movie really surprised me; this is that movie you don?t want to tell others that you watched, let alone enjoyed.

But what fascinated me about this reality tale was its narrative, as it surprisingly hands over a group of people much like the cast of characters in American Pie; with its exclusive group of faces, you?re bound to find someone to part with in sympathy. And by the end of the running time, you may feel like you know these people; some of them may even become your friends after a while.
Using marketing methods dealing with a sex drive in advertising clips, New Line attempted to make this look like an hour-long extension of a Girls Gone Wild episode. But in a sense, I don?t blame its executives for that move; they?re going after a college audience that, either way, probably wouldn?t see a movie like this (in theaters) unless Johnny Knoxville or the Jackass clan was involved. So why not go desperate, since it?s really their only option, and pull a sex-driven campaign?

The Real Cancun is not a movie that surrounds T&A as you might expect, but rather a movie about a group of people and their experiences during spring break. There is sex involved, but we never see anything directly; the sex is never what we?re waiting to see, even though it will be the expectation of many a moviegoer who rents this in curiosity. There is nudity involved, but very little; and that aspect will probably dampen the mood for some. But it?s the characters? personalities and motives that drive the story as well as our involvement in the experience; I was anticipating a potentially poor film and was pleasantly taken aback when I was sucked into its world early on.

Let me note that (generally speaking) I?m not a fan of reality shows, and was actually a bit hesitant when deciding whether or not to watch it. I usually despise these reality episodes, as with television my belief has always been that you?re life really has to be "that" empty if you?re going to eagerly tune in to watch these hopeless people stuck on a deserted island. But I found that statement backfiring on me with Real Cancun, as I was drawn to some of the characters, despite that I didn?t like a few, and was, as guilty as it makes me feel, anticipating the events to come with these folks.

The Real Cancun takes a group of friendly, innocent college faces, and plops them in a spring break resort in Cancun. The plot, while paper-thin, revolves around these people wandering around, experimenting with relationships, all while we get a piece of what these people are like, lifestyle and personality-wise. It?s a movie that?ll likely have you searching for people to identity with or at least pinpoint who you?d actually want to hang around.

The entire idea might sound pointless, but I was left intrigued and fascinated by these characters; I wanted to know who got with whom, how they dealt with things, and if they?d still be the same way, personality wise, by the end of the trip. This is all coming from a film fan who usually criticizes other people for tuning into reality sitcoms, and now I myself feel trapped within a barricade with this instance. But even with the shocking turnout of this reality episode, you probably still won?t find me tuning in to any such programs on the air.

But I have to say, for as much negative buzz as this project held, and the general public consensus that New Line was producing a pointless ride, I was actually pleased I took up the opportunity to see this. Rather than always wondering how bad this movie really is, I can finally justify that with an official opinion, by revealing how bad it really isn?t.

DVD Features:
- Deleted Scenes
- Cast Insights
- Highlights from the Theatrical Premiere
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Widescreen

Audio Features:
- (English) Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Lee's Grade:
Ranked #45 of 132 between Anything Else (#44) and Bruce Almighty (#46) for 2003 movies.

A	0.4%
B	30.0%
C	61.7%
D	8.0%
F	0.0%