Susan Granger’s review of “Raising Victor Vargas” (Samuel Goldwyn Films/Fireworks)
First-time writer-director Peter Sollett scores a solid hit with this coming-of-age story set in the heat of summer on New York’s Lower East Side. With his adolescent hormones aflame, skinny, callous, cocky 16 year-old Victor Vargas (Victor Rasuk) has his heart set on “Juicy Judy” Ramirez (Judy Marte), the prettiest girl in the neighborhood. Their courtship begins at the neighborhood pool in a scene reminiscent of “Raging Bull.” Victor has two younger siblings: a beatific brother (Silvestre Rasuk, the real-life Victor’s younger brother) who “always tries to make the family happy” and a scowling, overweight sister (Krystal Podriguez). But the most memorable character is Victor’s grandmother (Altagracia Guzman) who is determined to raise her grandchildren with Old World values, albeit in a shabby tenement. She’s suspicious of Victor’s macho strutting, viewing him as yet another preening stud in the familial line, particularly when he alludes to the portrait of his late grandfather that hangs in the living room. There’s an indelible moment when Grandma delivers a plaintive monologue about growing up in a family of 14 children on a farm in the Dominican Republic and a hilarious interlude when she tries to palm Victor off on a welfare caseworker for being a bad influence. Using a primarily non-professional cast, 27 year-old Peter Sollett creates the kind of warm-hearted, anecdotal yet truthful story-telling that is often found only in documentaries. He evokes a rarely-seen kind of character authenticity that originated in his student award-winning short film, “Five Feet High and Rising,” which he made while at NYU. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Raising Victor Vargas” is an obviously improvised, poignant 8. Victor victorious!
