Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE LEGEND OF JUAN JOSE MUNDO [Dances With Films NY - New York, New York]
Feel good movies harking back to 80s teenage crushes are usually filled with angst by their very nature. With "The Legend Of Juan Jose Mundo", the aspect of what might be real versus imagined is seen through the eyes of Julie (Anna Mirodin) who, trying to be the good girl but also wanting to have her experiences as a teenager, unexpectedly becomes the host for an exchange student in Juan Jose Mundo (Alexandro Boyd) who seems to be coming in as the man with it all, flirting and charming the ladies at her school and yet somehow keeping away from her. The movie understands her perspective and also his. Set in 1984, the needle drops are plentiful and, while not completely mainstream, do allow for the feeling of the era. The movie is great in that it doesn't play down the chicanery and bad behavior of its participants but doesn't sugarcoat their shortcomings either. Mundo is what he seems and yet not. Julie is simply motivated by her peers but also her own libido (as is everyone in the film). It harks back to a time that is not more innocent but simply had different tools and rules to interact with across the board. The offset to the onslaught of mean girls comes in the form of Julie's best friend Suzanne (Hannah Kepple). She feels in many ways like Busy Phillips in "Cougar Town" (though not sure Julie is Courtney Cox).
In that day and time of life (maybe we felt different in 1984 but probably not), everything seemed to be life ending but the reality is that everyone is just learning to be themselves, for good or for bad. As the film builds, it is about those moments of jealousy, awkward encounters and little glimpses of joy in between the ideas of what youth should be. Set in White Plains (with a sojourn to NYC) [they recreated parts of slimy 42nd and 8th back in the day], "Mundo" doesn't apologize for its characters. More often than not, it just lets them be because they will find their way on their own and not exactly the way one would expect. Eduardo, one of the other exchange students, who is described as "quiet", explains this to Julie, and his perspective brings the reality of what really happens (and continues to be) to bear. Willing something into existence doesn't make it true but it certainly helps with the illusion until something else comes along. "The Legend Of Juan Jose Mundo" gets what it is but also doesn't try to put itself in a corner with what it believes to be true. It simply follows another avenue to make it happen in a clearer perspective. B
By Tim Wassberg
