''Sweet 15'' is a 1990 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Victoria Hochberg Victoria Greene Hochberg (born December 24, 1952) is an American film and television director and writer. She was one of the Original Six, a group of women directors who created the Women's Steering Committee of the Directors Guild of America, ...

and starring Karla Montana,

Panchito Gómez Panchito Gomez (born November 2, 1963) is an American actor. His parents are from Ecuador and Puerto Rico. Born in Spanish Harlem, New York, Panchito began his career at age seven with a television film: ''Street of the Flower Boxes''. His fath ...

Jerry Stiller Gerald Isaac Stiller (June 8, 1927 – May 11, 2020) was an American actor and comedian. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015 ...

, and

Tony Plana José Antonio Plana (born April 19, 1952) is a Cuban actor and director. He is known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC television show ''Ugly Betty'' and for voicing Manuel "Manny" Calavera in the video game ''Grim ...

. The plot concerns a fourteen-year-old girl whose dreams of having a perfect quinceanera are suddenly halted when she realizes that her family is residing in the United States illegally. At the same time, she is smitten by Ramon, a cousin of her friend, and wants him to dance with her at her party. A

WonderWorks ''WonderWorks'' is an anthology series which ran from 1984 to 1992. Produced by the Public Broadcasting Service, the Walt Disney Company purchased the home video rights to the series in 1987 and was responsible for making the series available t ...

film, it is commonly shown in Spanish classes all over the country to teach about Hispanic culture.

Plot

Marta de la Cruz is the daughter of two hardworking Mexican

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s. She and her two siblings were born in the United States and are living in Los Angeles. They are a working-class family, and their hardworking father, Samuel, is the operations manager of a steel mill that makes

chain link fence A chain-link fence (also referred to as wire netting, wire-mesh fence, chain-wire fence, cyclone fence, hurricane fence, or diamond-mesh fence) is a type of woven fence usually made from galvanized or linear low-density polyethylene-coated st ...

s, where he uses the fake name "Arturo Montoya". He has been working hard for much of his life, and the work finally paid off when they became legal citizens. They also have a close relationship with their next-door neighbor Jorge, who is struggling to find work because he has no papers. Marta is seen as spoiled, immature, and somewhat naive, but she wants to have an amazing quinceanera, as her friends are not having one. Her parents tell her that she may have to postpone it, because of financial problems, when in reality, they are not legal citizens, and they need to save money in case Samuel's boss, Mr. Waterman finds out and he is left jobless. Marta does not understand the situation and is very angry and upset. Her jealousy only increases when she is forced to get a job in their church to volunteer in the community. She continues to plan, however, determined to have her "quince". Also, her friends are busy hitting on her friend Gabi's, distant cousin Ramón from New York City who just arrived in California. They are pressuring Marta to have him as her escort at her quince, but she is too shy, and Ramón is struggling with his inability to read or write. It must also be noted that Ramón appears to be much older than her. Samuel knows that he has earned his citizenship, as he has worked hard and respected the laws and customs of America for over a decade, but as he has no papers, he cannot be. While working at the church one day, Marta discovers that Samuel is undocumented. Understandably, she becomes upset, and eventually confronts her father. The same day that Maria discovered her fathers status, despite Samuel's warnings, Jorge gets a job at a warehouse that is known for deporting illegal employees on pay day. Sadly, he gets caught by the police, and is likely deported (the capture is shown; the deporting is not). Despite her father's wishes for her to not date Ramón, she goes behind his back and enlists him for help in getting all of Samuel's previous employer's signatures, so he can get his papers. Meanwhile, Jorge is deported to Mexico when he fails to present his papers. Also, at Samuel's plant, more and more employees are being fired or deported, and Samuel fears he may be next, so he is hard at work trying to find a second job, one that does not require papers. Meanwhile, Marta gets all but one signature, and goes to an auto salvage yard for the last one, but the manager is rude and stubbornly refuses to sign the papers. Marta is persistent, and the manager has a change of heart and manages to sign the papers. Also, Ramón learns how to read and surprises Marta with it. She presents her father with his signatures, and he sends them in for their papers. Soon after, he is given his temporary papers to show at his job, as it will be a while before their permanent papers arrive. Samuel thanks his daughter and they embrace. However, Marta is soon told that they found that she had been tampering with the files and she has to go inside. Expecting the worst, she discovers a surprise quince. During the quinceanera, Ramón shows Marta that he had learned to write.

Cast

* Karla Montana as Marta de la Cruz *

as Ramón *

as Mr. Waterman *

as Samuel Dela Cruz * Robert Covarrubias as Jorge * Laura P. Vega as Gabrielle 'Gaby' Corea * Giselle Anthony as Jackie

Reception

The film received positive reviews because of its realistic and non-biased depiction on the touchy subject of illegal immigration, but negative ones due to the acting. It has become somewhat of a hidden classic and is commonly shown in Spanish classes because of its clean, family-friendly depiction of Mexican culture.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0100722 1990 films 1990 television films Hispanic and Latino American drama films Films about Mexican Americans 1990s English-language films 1990s American films