John Leguizamo: Mambo Mouth

MAMBO MOUTH is profane, scathing, blunt, and brutally honest. It is also one of the best stand up performances ever devised. I had the opportunity to see MAMBO MOUTH on television when I was a kid and it was the first time I was introduced to John Leguizambo. Very few people know about his history as a playwright before his various acting performances in film. MAMBO MOUTH is based on his won Obie award-winning play. Throughout the performance, he depicts various character stereotypes (including a woman) in his own unique, and very funny way. An excellent performance!

Leguizamo depicts 5 (or 6-depending on your version) characters, including a womanizing aspiring actor who talks up his near-successes on a public access TV show, a teenager describing his first sexual encounter with Nilda, the morbidly obese bodega owner, and a woman telling her friend about how she finally got even with her cheating boyfriend.

I saw this film first when I was too young to really understand it, and thought it was a guy doing different stereotypical characters. When I watched it again in a college class I was astounded at how much depth there is in every character, and how much education Leguizamo mixes in with all the laughs. People sensitive about racial- or socio-economic humor should keep looking. I would recommend this for people interested in Latino studies, or other Latinos looking for some great early-90's flashback laughs.