“The Real Cancun” (New Line Pictures)
In “The Real Cancun” the persons behind the hit MTV series “The Real World” train their cameras on a group of sixteen young people, aged eighteen and up, as they live and love through a week of spring break in Cancun. These young people are not actors but are actual people so the events that occur are presumed to be true. True or false it still comes across as mostly boring.
Two thirds of the movie is taken up by figuring who is going to be hooking up with who. But the more important question is who cares. These people are deadly dull and can only try to make themselves interesting by drinking too much, partying too loudly, filling their conversation with four letter words, or playing bedroom hop scotch.
Having said all that, it should be noted there is not an excessive amount of nudity in the film, and the sexual escapades are all done under cover. So anyone expecting a racy, raw movie will be disappointed from start to finish.
The only story that grabs the attention of the audience is that of Alan. He is an eighteen year old male from Lubbock, Texas. He comes to Cancun with a vow not to drink. This is something he has never done in his life and he plans to keep it that way. The fifteen other members of his group take bets on who can make him slip first.
Later Alan takes part in a hot body contest and becomes one of the party hardy group. His good intentions have gone by the wayside but he announces his spring break the most fun ever!
The movie is rated R for nudity and profanity.
It is hoped this movie will not start a trend to “reality” films based on the “Bachelor” series and all the other types of TV shows like that. Most reality shows depend on a lengthy period of getting to know the contestants. You can’t really get to know anyone in a two-hour movie. That is proven by “The Real Cancun.”
The scenery is beautiful, the kids for the most part are attractive, the film is less than two hours long – those are the positives. Everything else is negative.
I scored “The Real Cancun” a fake 3 out of 10.
©2003 Jackie K. Cooper
