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Raising Victor Vargas

Play trailer Poster for Raising Victor Vargas R Released Mar 28, 2003 1h 28m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 109 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
On New York City's Lower East Side, Dominican teen and aspiring ladies' man Victor Vargas (Victor Rasuk) has nothing but girls on his mind. Though he talks a big game at the local pool, Vargas' true experience amounts to nothing more than a string of romantic rejections. After Vargas fails to improve his abysmal reputation by bedding an overweight classmate, he chooses a much more difficult target -- the stunning and stuck-up Judy Ramirez (Judy Marte).
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Raising Victor Vargas

Raising Victor Vargas

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Critics Consensus

A coming-of-age tale marked by its authenticity.

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Critics Reviews

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Neil Norman London Evening Standard Peter Sollett's remarkable movie about the lives and loves of Latino teenagers in New York's Lower East Side is an unexpected treat. Jan 11, 2018 Full Review Nell Minow Movie Mom Rated: A+ Feb 18, 2012 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 4/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site The work avoids a variety of clichés and attempts to take seriously its young protagonists' lives and dilemmas. Feb 16, 2021 Full Review Felicia Feaster Creative Loafing Few films capture how hostile and enormous the world can be for children and the defenses they create to cope, but this easygoing, lovely film does, to great, tender effect. Feb 4, 2020 Full Review Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal Writer/director Peter Sollett refreshingly avoids placing characters into lazy traps of pregnancy, betrayal or violence. These are intelligent, thoughtful teenagers whom you'll fondly remember as struggling through desires and instincts. Rated: 4/4 Sep 17, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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victoria a realistic asf it shows the awkward and real life not jus sum fantasy love story Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/30/23 Full Review Audience Member You know you are watching a good movie when it stirs a multitude of emotions in you, this was such a tender movie. It felt so real, the actors and actresses did a phenomenal job. I wish more movies like this would be produced because it portrays Latinos in a positive light, with strone values and principles. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Raising Victor Vargas is the tale of a New York kid who is not as cool as he pretends to be. I found the character of Victor quite irritating because he presents himself as a total douche, and he’s also a little clueless. A dumb douche is hard to watch for even a few minutes, let alone a feature-length film. His behavior with his family doesn’t get much better, and while I understand why the grandmother shouldn’t get rid of him, I could sympathize with her desire to see him go. His friendships and relationships all seem superficial, and I wonder if he’s ever been genuine with anyone. His brother and sister are only slightly better than him, but they have their own problems that make them tough to watch as well. I do not care that much for coming of age dramas, and it’s even harder for me to care when the main characters are unpleasant. I also did not enjoy the lack of direction or structure to Raising Victor Vargas. I never felt like the film was going anywhere. I’m not even convinced that Victor experienced any growth or change over the course of the film. I would not be surprised if the exact same series of events happened mere days later, and once again he was at risk of being locked out of his grandmother’s home. I suspect some of the things going on in this film were meant to be humorous, but I was not laughing. It all was depressing and kind of pathetic. It also felt so small. There were very few sets, only a handful of actors, almost no extras, and so on. I suspect a local repertory theater troupe could stage a version of Raising Victor Vargas and it would look just as good. I simply did not connect with this film in any fashion, and don’t think it’s the type of thing I’ll ever need to revisit. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/08/20 Full Review nefasto r It is a nice simple indi about family/love. The realism of it is what it saved it for me. Definitely not the actors, nor the amazingly thin plot. More then watchable, even good if you empathize with the characters. Still I think is a bit overrated. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Parts of it focuses on how females will fall for anything to give up the booty early on... then the romance lol Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Raising Victor Vargas" is an interesting, vicarious cultural study. Sad and sweet. Poses a the well-loved dramatic question we see in a plethora of movies ranging from Disney's "Snow White" to "Crazy/Beautiful" (Kirsten Dunst): can love save us from the grittiness of life? You have to be in the mood for the production values of independent film to appreciate this quirky story. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Raising Victor Vargas

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis On New York City's Lower East Side, Dominican teen and aspiring ladies' man Victor Vargas (Victor Rasuk) has nothing but girls on his mind. Though he talks a big game at the local pool, Vargas' true experience amounts to nothing more than a string of romantic rejections. After Vargas fails to improve his abysmal reputation by bedding an overweight classmate, he chooses a much more difficult target -- the stunning and stuck-up Judy Ramirez (Judy Marte).
Director
Peter Sollett
Producer
Scott Macaulay, Robin O'Hara, Peter Sollett, Alain de la Mata
Screenwriter
Peter Sollett, Peter Sollett, Eva Vives
Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co
Canal+, StudioCanal, Forensic Films
Rating
R (Strong Language)
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 28, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 28, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.1M
Runtime
1h 28m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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