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 based on the 1990 novel The Perez Family 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 Anjelica Huston - Carmela Pérez Chazz Palminteri - Lt. John Pirelli Trini Alvarado - Teresa Pérez Celia Cruz - Luz Pat Ranjit Chowdhry - Indian immigration official Diego Wallraff - Ángel Díaz Ellen Cleghorne - Officer Rhoades Angela Lanza - Flavia Jose Felipe Padron - Felipe Pérez Lázaro Pérez - Armando 'Papi' Pérez Bill Sage - 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 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.