''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 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 no ...

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 was ...

'' by Christine Bell. The film was directed by Mira Nair. 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 ( Alfred Molina), 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 * Alfred Molina - 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 t ...

- 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 - Ángel Díaz * Ellen Cleghorne - 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 Galilean ...

- Felipe Pérez *

Lázaro Pérez Lázaro is a Spanish or Portuguese-based given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Lázaro (footballer, born 1990), full name Lázaro Vinícius Alves Martins, Brazilian footballer *Lázaro (footballer, born 2002), ful ...

- 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 - Orlando * Billy Hopkins - Father Aiden * Ruben Rabasa - Father Martínez * Melissa Anne Acosta - Isabel Archival footage of Jimmy Carter 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 200 ...

also appeared in the film.

Reception

''The Perez Family'' holds a "Fresh" score of 60% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6.0/10, based on 20 reviews.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack composed by Alan Silvestri was released by Music Box Records, paired with his score for '' Clean Slate''.

References

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