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Full Review
In "Illegal Tender" (Universal), the sins of a drug-dealing father, Wilson DeLeon Sr. (Manny Perez), return to haunt his widow, Millie (Wanda De Jesus), his son, Wilson Jr. (Rick Gonzalez), and even his son's young stepbrother, Randy (Antonio Ortiz), a full two decades after the father himself was murdered by his gangster boss, Javier Cordero (Gary Perez).
Despite the family's subsequent rise to prosperity, they cannot escape Cordero's apparently endless vendetta.
In what is essentially a crime-driven coming-of-age tale, Wilson Jr. must do the bidding of his hard-as-nails mother in the ongoing effort to protect their family. This involves learning how to shoot people, traveling to Puerto Rico and putting his relationship with his girlfriend, Ana (Dania Ramirez), on hold.
Written and directed by Franc Reyes, "Illegal Tender" is an exhaustingly overacted and dreary melodrama, plagued by a perverse code of family values and relieved only occasionally by both intentional and unintentional laughs.
The scenery-chewing cast members spew platitudes and bullets with equal aplomb. The term "pistol-packin' mama" might have been coined for mother Millie. She thinks nothing of gunning down Cordero's minions in the name of self-defense and justifies her late husband's nefarious activities with the cockeyed reasoning that "everyone (in the world) is stained."
The cinematography scores points beyond the writing and acting. But not even Frank Byers' fine lensing can ultimately relieve this venture from its crushing burden of corpses and cliches.
The film contains frequent rough and crude language, rear and partial upper female nudity, adulterous sexual activity, highly suggestive costuming and dancing, graphic violence with gore, and suicide. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
These movies have been evaluated for artistic merit and moral suitability by the media reviewing division of Catholic News Service. The reviews include the CNS rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
A-I -- general patronage;
A-II -- adults and adolescents;
A-III -- adults;
L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
O -- morally offensive.
Note: Some movies previously were designated A-IV. Older films with this classification should be regarded as classified L.