Let's be realistic.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Energetic Latin rhythms and dramatic conflict permeate this story of two Cuban brothers, mambo musicians, who leave Havana in 1952 and go to New York in search of success. But success means different things to each.To Cesar (Armand Assante), extroverted and materialistic, it means international stardom. To Nestor (Antonio Banderas), sensitive and artistic, success means managing a small club where the music is good and customers enjoy themselves. Cesar, somewhat domineering, drags Nestor along to conform to Cesar's definition of success. And romantic interests complicate the overall plot, en route to a poignant ending.The way the script is written one would think the story was based on fact, especially given the "I Love Lucy" and Desi Arnaz sequence. But the story is fictional, based on a novel. Still, the film could be construed thematically as a kind of archetype story of immigrants who migrate to America to pursue the 1950s American dream.Casting is okay. But Armand Assante overplays his role as Cesar, a character who is not terribly sympathetic. The result is a performance that grates a bit much. Banderas' performance seems more natural, less contrived.Cinematography trends a bit dark. Though the story is superficially upbeat, the tone conveys a dark undercurrent. And colors correspond to moods of various scenes. Production design, costumes, and sets are lavish. Celia Cruz adds zest as a Latin diva."The Mambo Kings" is something of a period piece, a "come-to-America" success story more fashionable in previous decades. Maybe that's why the story didn't really interest me. But it's a well-made film, one that will be enjoyed by the right audience.

THE MAMBO KINGS (1992) *** Armand Assante, Antonio Banderas, Cathy Moriarty, Maruschka Detmers, Desi Arnaz Jr. Flamboyant and fun watching film about two immigrant Cuban brothers in 1950s NYC trying to make the big time with their style and music. Banderas is particularly good as the heartbroken younger sibling and the soundtrack is memorably poignant and lavish set designs as well.

Two thumbs up, fine family fun, I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats. Seriously though, it was a beautiful film and it is the first time I can say that I preferred the film to the movie. The soundtrack was fantastic and if you like Latin music, its a must have, the collection of mambo songs is stellar.

If you are into the mambo beat, and I am, that alone should make for the foundation of a good movie. Add two prime hunks of beefcake like Assante and Banderas. There is also a chance to see the incomparable Tito Puente perform. Further add the immensely talented Shakespearean-trained Roscoe Lee Browne and Desi Arnaz Jr. portraying his father, and you should have a can't-miss experience. Wrong!It starts with the directorial debut by Arne (formerly Arnold) Glimscher. Everything is angry and in-your-face. Plot motivations and character motivations are given short shrift or ignored altogether except for ubiquitous anger. The camera angles are out of control. Even the can't-miss score is mishandled and inappropriately matched to different scenes. The pacing is non-existent. The piece-de-resistance is a slow-mo death scene that even Ed Wood could have directed better.The less said about the *#@%$@* writing the better. This is one of those movies that tries to show you how macho it is by non-stop cursing. But even the non-expletive dialogue is disgusting.The performances are simply dreadful. In other comments here, I saw that someone called this Banderas' best performance. Huh??? It is, by far, his worst. He renounces it himself! He read his English phonetically and it showed. He was stiff, unconvincing, and totally out-of-sync. He's gorgeous, of course, but his character is too important for that alone to be enough.Since Armand Assante was playing off him in almost every scene, it threw his timing totally off-balance and accentuated his anger and frustration. His character also did some implausibly stupid things given his background. Cathy Moriarity does what she can in her scenes with Assante, and there he almost seems like a totally different character, one you can stand spending some time with.The stentorian Roscoe Lee Browne humiliates himself as a Cuban mobster in a pathetically phony accent. Desi Arnaz's scenes give the viewer some unintentional comic relief. Equally hilarious is the eighty-something Puente's attempt to play himself at 45.Overall, if I were ever asked to teach a class on film, I would use this as my warning lesson on what traps to avoid.