''The Perez Family'' is an American comedy film released in 1995 about a group of Cuban refugees in America who pretend to be a family. It stars Marisa Tomei,

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nom ...

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an American ...

, and other well-known actors. It was based on the 1990 novel ''

The Perez Family ''The Perez Family'' is an American comedy film released in 1995 about a group of Cuban refugees in America who pretend to be a family. It stars Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Anjelica Huston, Chazz Palminteri, and other well-known actors. It w ...

'' () by Christine Bell. The film was directed by

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...

. The premise was that a group of unrelated people, who happened to share the last name "Pérez", realized they could more easily stay in America if they pretended to be family. Set in 1980 during the Mariel boatlift, the movie shows Juan Raúl Pérez (

), a former aristocrat and newly released political prisoner, seeking to return to his wife, now in America, after 20 years. Dottie Pérez ( Marisa Tomei) is a former prostitute, who Juan meets. U.S. Immigration officials assume the two are married, because of the common last name. The potential for a real romantic relationship between the couple sets the basis for much of the rest of the film.

Cast

Selective cast listing: * Marisa Tomei - Dorita Evita Pérez *

- Juan Raúl Pérez *

- Carmela Pérez *

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an American ...

- Lt. John Pirelli * Trini Alvarado - Teresa Pérez *

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during ...

- Luz Pat *

Ranjit Chowdhry Ranjit Chowdhry (19 September 1955 – 15 April 2020) was an Indian character actor, known for his roles in television, movies, and theatre. He appeared in two episodes of ''The Office'', as Vikram, a telemarketer who worked with Michael, and w ...

- Indian immigration official *

Diego Wallraff Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. Et ...

- Ángel Díaz *

Ellen Cleghorne Ellen Leslye Cleghorne is an American actress and comedian, best known as a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1991 to 1995. Cleghorne was the sketch comedy show's second African-American female repertory cast member, succeeding Danitra ...

- Officer Rhoades *Angela Lanza - Flavia *

Jose Felipe Padron Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galil ...

- Felipe Pérez * Lázaro Pérez - Armando 'Papi' Pérez *

Bill Sage William Sage III (born April 3, 1962) is an American actor and alumnus of State University of New York at Purchase. He is known for his collaborations with director Hal Hartley. Sage has appeared in more than 80 movies, most notable ''American Ps ...

- Steve Steverino *

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as ''Arizona Dream'' (1993), ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), ''Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles include ...

- Orlando * Billy Hopkins - Father Aiden * Ruben Rabasa - Father Martínez * Melissa Anne Acosta - Isabel Archival footage of

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

and

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...

also appeared in the film.

Reception

''The Perez Family'' received mixed reviews from critics, as it holds a 60% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 20 reviews.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack composed by

Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Bac ...

was released by Music Box Records, paired with his score for '' Clean Slate''.

External links

* * * *
CD soundtrack on Music Box Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez Family, The 1995 films 1995 comedy films American comedy films Films about immigration to the United States Films based on American novels Films directed by Mira Nair Films produced by Michael Nozik Films scored by Alan Silvestri Films set in 1980 Films set in Coral Gables, Florida Films set in Miami Films with screenplays by Robin Swicord The Samuel Goldwyn Company films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films