Entertainment
Garcia Girls: An Eye-Opening Experience
Armond Richards |
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 Let me start this review by stating a fact. It is no mystery that men and women are two annoyingly different types of creatures. Yet, we men are often consumed with searching for some magical way to understand a woman in her most private sanctuaries. Allow me to tell you men out there that if you do not comprehend the complex intricacies of the public woman, then do not, by any means, glimpse behind their closed doors. It is not my intention to throw every male on earth under the bus, but when the house is silent and the door is closed, women are just as insecure and irrational as we are. It is actually mind-boggling that humanity has lasted this long. Anyone reading this might be wondering how I have come to acquire this treasure trove of knowledge. After you see How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, though, then you too will be endowed with the wisdom I possess.
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, the directorial feature film debut of Georgina Garcia Riedel, features the acting talents of Lucy Gallardo as Dona Genoveva, Elizabeth Pena as Lolita Garcia and America Ferrera as Blanca Garcia. The three Garcia girls have all been without the sensuous touch of the male counterpart for far too long. This summer, that particular drought will get some rain.
 With each generational representative finding a reason to doll themselves up in the morning, they begin to see that life is not worth living if one must live it alone. The grandmother discovers what it’s like to be with a man years after the death of her husband; the mother remembers what it’s like to be with a man after her husband left her for a younger woman; and the daughter learns what it’s like to be with a man for the first time. They soon discover that love, both intimate and physical, comes with its ups and downs. Whether it is the fear of judgment from those you have come to respect, the fear of pregnancy or just the most basic fear of God, the choices made will not only affect you, but everyone around you.
It is rare to see femininity expressed with such truth and boldness. So bold is Garcia Girls, in fact, that there were one or two scenes where I felt that the vastness of the truth uncovered threatened to completely overwhelm me. Understand that when you are invited to witness a grandmother lying naked in a bathtub finding pleasure once more, or a middle-aged mother supine on her bed simulating intimate relations, or even a teenager who has just lost her virginity checking her underwear for proof of a continuing menstrual cycle, it begs the answers to questions you’ve always assumed, but never asked. In the back of my mind, I always knew and understood on some level the trials and tribulations of being a woman. It could be the stifling loneliness of living years alone without the touch of a man. It could be not knowing what a good man looks like…or not knowing a man at all. The Garcia girls (like most women) do their best to walk through life with the dignity and pride instilled in their upbringing. Even the camera shots gave their own version of the enduring longing of love. Almost every shot seemed to gaze off into the distance wondering when, if ever, the status quo would change and something new would finally come along.
 Women and men come with a large amount of similarities, including a brain and heart. When the body’s two most important organs start working together for the first time, it becomes no small state of utopia for the person rounded enough to perfect such a lifestyle. For the rest of us, the head and the heart are constantly at war with one another trying to gain dominance over our free will. The heart usually has the advantage being our most basic impulse, but the head has more than enough time to wage its battles. Soon enough, insecurities, pride, over-analyzing and mistakes come marching to the frontline in hopes of being a hero. Most people understand their own idiosyncrasies behind the curtain of public perception. If you are able to grasp the reality that everybody is a weirdo, you have what it takes to live a happy existence. If you cannot get past the fact that perfection, in all of its unattainable glory, is a myth of the highest order, then life for you will be one futile search after another.
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer is now playing in limited release.
For more information, visit garciagirlsmovie.com.
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