A Day Without a Mexican

2004 film directed by Sergio Arau

Yareli Arizmendi
Sergio Arau
Sergio Guerrero

Based onA Day Without a Mexican
by Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio ArauProduced by

Eckehardt Von Damm
Isaac Artenstein

Starring

Yareli Arizmendi
John Getz
Maureen Flannigan
Muse Watson
Fernando Arau
Eduardo Palomo

CinematographyAlan CaudilloEdited byDaniel A. FortMusic byJuan J. ColomerDistributed byTelevisa Cine

Release date

May 14, 2004 (2004-05-14)

Running time

100 minutesCountries

United States
Mexico
Spain

Languages

English
Spanish

Box office$10.1 million

A Day Without a Mexican is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Sergio Arau in his directorial debut from a screenplay co-written with Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Guerrero.^[1] It stars Yareli Arizmendi, John Getz, Maureen Flannigan, Muse Watson, Fernando Arau, and Eduardo Palomo. The plot offers a satirical look at the consequences of all the Mexicans in the state of California suddenly disappearing (with a mysterious "pink fog" surrounding the state preventing any communication or movement with the outside world). The film earned over $10 million at the box office and received generally negative reviews from critics.

Cast

Yareli Arizmendi as TV reporter Lila Rodriguez
León Singer as Lila's father
Caroline Aaron as Aunt Gigi
Elpidia Carrillo as Cata
Yeniffer Behrens as Suzy
Gwendoline Yeo as a TV newscaster
Larry Carroll as a TV newscaster
John Getz as U.S. Senator Steven Abercombie III
Melinda Allen as his wife, Ellen Abercrombie
Suzanne Friedline as Vicki Martin
Maureen Flannigan as Mary Jo Quintana
Salli Saffioti as Mary Jo's neighbor
Frankie J. Allison as Officer Carr
Fernando Arau as Undocumented 1
Muse Watson as Louis McClaire
Carlos Gómez as Jose Velasquez Diaz
Bru Muller as George McClaire
Tony Abatemarco as a television talk show host
Eduardo Palomo as Roberto Quintana

Release

The film opened on May 14, 2004, in limited release throughout Southern California and on September 17 in theaters in Chicago, Texas, Florida, and New York City as well as San Jose.

Reception

Box office

A Day Without a Mexican grossed $5.9 million in Mexico, and $4.2 million in the United States and Canada, for a worldwide total of $10.1 million.^[2] In Mexico, the film earned $2.7 million from 330 theaters in its opening weekend.^[3] In the United States, the film as only a moderate box-office success, earning $628,807 in its first weekend.^[4]

Critical response

The film received negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 27% of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Day Without a Mexican is a preachy and heavy-handed satire that fails to deliver anything of substance."^[5] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 30 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.^[6]

Ella Taylor of the LA Weekly describes it as, "A terrific premise is mangled to a pulp, then beaten to death in this forced mockumentary."^{[citation needed]} E! was less kind, stating, "This Day not only lacks Mexicans but also good acting, sharp storytelling, and humor."^[7] At the Cartagena Film Festival, the film earned a nomination for Best Film and won Best Screenplay. It also earned a special jury award at the Gramado Film Festival and Best Editing at the Guadalajara Film Festival.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Cooper, Tracie (2014). "A Day Without a Mexican". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014.
^ "A Day Without a Mexican (2004)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
^ "Mexican 2004 Week 32". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
^ "Domestic 2004 Weekend 20". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
^ "A Day Without a Mexican". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
^ "A Day Without a Mexican". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
^ "A Day Without a Mexican". E!. May 14, 2004.