Tortilla Soup (2001)

A Mexican-American master chef and father to three daughters has lost his taste for food but not for life.

Director:

Maria Ripoll

Writers:

Hui-Ling Wang (earlier screenplay), Ang Lee (earlier screenplay)

Stars:

Hector Elizondo, Jacqueline Obradors, Tamara Mello

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jacqueline Obradors	...	Carmen Naranjo
Tamara Mello	...	Maribel Naranjo
Judy Herrera	...	Eden
Nikolai Kinski	...	Andy
Elizabeth Peña	...	Leticia Naranjo
Constance Marie	...	Yolanda
Troy Ruptash	...	Hairdresser
Ken Marino	...	Jeff
Hector Elizondo	...	Martin Naranjo
Marisabel García	...	April
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Gomez
Louis Crugnali	...	Catering Assistant
Raquel Welch	...	Hortensia
Joel Joan	...	Antonio Urgell
Paul Rodriguez	...	Orlando Castillo

Storyline

Retired Mexican-American chef Martin Naranjo shares an L.A. home with his three gorgeous, but single, adult daughters. Though he long ago lost his ability to taste, Martin still lives to cook incredibly lavish dinners for his loved ones and to serve them in a family-style ritual at traditional sit-down meals. Although the women humor their father's old-fashioned ways, each of them is searching for fulfillment outside the family circle. College student Maribel is growing increasingly frustrated with the singles scene and wants a steady man; gorgeous career woman Carmen is fed up with her boyfriend and his wandering eye; meanwhile, eldest daughter Letitia, who has suppressed her own romantic longings, senses something missing in her life. Things take a turn for the romantic when Dad, a widower, meets a vivacious divorcee on the lookout for a mate and each of his daughters, in turn, finds someone. But they'll all discover that the recipe for happiness may call for some unexpected ...

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Plot Keywords:

mexican american | chef | college student | career woman | divorcee | 

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Taglines:

A comedy to arouse your appetite.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Sur La Table

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

31 August 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sabores da Vida

Filming Locations:

Marshall Fundamental Secondary School - 990 Allen Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$653,729, 26 August 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,447,014, 16 December 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,574,762

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Films, Starz! Encore Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The three poems that Leti's "secret admirer" sends her are "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell, "Her Face, Her Tongue, Her Wit" by Arthur Gorges, and "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" by Robert Herrick. The last note is from Titania's speech in Act III, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

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Goofs

At the end when Carmen is leaving the kitchen to serve her family, at first she has one plate without the lobster, then when she is leaving the kitchen, as she is turning the corner, she has the plate with a lobster. Then, coming out of the kitchen, the lobster has disappeared, then reappears again when she turns towards the tables.

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Quotes

Carmen Naranjo: Do you know why we clink glasses before drinking?... It's so that all the five senses are involved. We touch the glass. We smell the drink. We see its color. We taste it. Hearing is the only sense that doesn't participate unless we create it.

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Connections

Remake of Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)

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Soundtracks

Call Waiting
Written by Marie Daulne
Performed by Zap Mama

User Reviews

For Years, I Put off seeing SOUP Because It Was a Remake of EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. Big Mistake, That!

.......................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL

When Maribel (Tamara Mello) learns her Brazilian boyfriend Andy (Nikolai Kinski) speaks 5 languages. She's duly impressed. She zings a question: "What do you call a person who speaks several languages?" He quickly responds: "A polyglot?"..."OK," She continues, "and a person who speaks 2 languages?"..."Ahhh, BEE-lingual?" He says, flubbing the pronunciation. Her final question: "And what about a person who speaks only ONE Language?" "Ahhhhh" He pauses, prompting her to answer her own rhetorical question/cultural joke: "…An American!"

In a way, this joke almost sums up the movie. Those of you who are fluent in 2 or more languages, will probably get it. Many of you who are MONO-lingual might shrug your shoulders, smirk, and simply say..."Yeah, So WHAT?!?" For years, I have put off seeing SOUP because it was a remake of EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. Big mistake, that! Now just because I've rated this 9* (vs.8.5* for EAT DRINK) doesn't mean I expect most of you to rate it 8* or higher!

Look, SOUP takes place in L.A., where I grew up. Also, all my life I've been exposed to bilingual/bicultural Hispanic families from many different countries! Certainly, SOUP is far from perfect, but I loved it. WHY? First, I thought Raquel Welch (Birth name: Jo Raquel Tejada, of Bolivian/Irish parents) was absolutely hilarious. What a talented comedienne…What uncanny timing and delivery! Such a tragedy she isn't offered more juicy roles, like this one.

She was 60 years old when this was made! WOW! BTW-You wouldn't happen to have her phone number, would you? Interesting Wikipedia fact: Welch was the last star created under the star system! Well integrated cast (no pun intended) delivering a delightful ensemble performance. Hector Elizondo's Spanish, oddly enough, was slightly off and belied the fact that his character was an immigrant, but his nuanced performance made that easy to overlook.

WARNING: Don't watch this movie with an appetite! It would be torture…

9*STARS*...ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English or Español, are most welcome![e-mail]