Raising Victor Vargas | Rotten Tomatoes

Raising Victor Vargas

R

Released Mar 28, 2003

1h 28m

Comedy

Drama

List

96%

Tomatometer

110 Reviews

83%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

On New York City's Lower East Side, Dominican teen and aspiring ladies' man Victor Vargas (Victor Rasuk) has nothing but girls on his mind. Though he talks a big game at the local pool, Vargas' true experience amounts to nothing more than a string of romantic rejections. After Vargas fails to improve his abysmal reputation by bedding an overweight classmate, he chooses a much more difficult target -- the stunning and stuck-up Judy Ramirez (Judy Marte).

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Critics Consensus

A coming-of-age tale marked by its authenticity.

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Neil Norman

London Evening Standard

Peter Sollett's remarkable movie about the lives and loves of Latino teenagers in New York's Lower East Side is an unexpected treat.

Jan 11, 2018

Full Review

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: A+

Feb 18, 2012

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 4/5

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

The work avoids a variety of clichés and attempts to take seriously its young protagonists' lives and dilemmas.

Feb 16, 2021

Full Review

Felicia Feaster

Creative Loafing

Few films capture how hostile and enormous the world can be for children and the defenses they create to cope, but this easygoing, lovely film does, to great, tender effect.

Feb 4, 2020

Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Writer/director Peter Sollett refreshingly avoids placing characters into lazy traps of pregnancy, betrayal or violence. These are intelligent, thoughtful teenagers whom you'll fondly remember as struggling through desires and instincts.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 17, 2010

Full Review

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victoria a

realistic asf it shows the awkward and real life not jus sum fantasy love story

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/30/23

Full Review

li x

I didn't like it. Mediocre plot, empty story. Maybe it movie fro teenagers, but than movie suggests bad role model for it. And it also boring. Don't watch.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

You know you are watching a good movie when it stirs a multitude of emotions in you, this was such a tender movie. It felt so real, the actors and actresses did a phenomenal job. I wish more movies like this would be produced because it portrays Latinos in a positive light, with strone values and principles.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Raising Victor Vargas is the tale of a New York kid who is not as cool as he pretends to be. I found the character of Victor quite irritating because he presents himself as a total douche, and he’s also a little clueless. A dumb douche is hard to watch for even a few minutes, let alone a feature-length film. His behavior with his family doesn’t get much better, and while I understand why the grandmother shouldn’t get rid of him, I could sympathize with her desire to see him go. His friendships and relationships all seem superficial, and I wonder if he’s ever been genuine with anyone. His brother and sister are only slightly better than him, but they have their own problems that make them tough to watch as well. I do not care that much for coming of age dramas, and it’s even harder for me to care when the main characters are unpleasant. I also did not enjoy the lack of direction or structure to Raising Victor Vargas. I never felt like the film was going anywhere. I’m not even convinced that Victor experienced any growth or change over the course of the film. I would not be surprised if the exact same series of events happened mere days later, and once again he was at risk of being locked out of his grandmother’s home. I suspect some of the things going on in this film were meant to be humorous, but I was not laughing. It all was depressing and kind of pathetic. It also felt so small. There were very few sets, only a handful of actors, almost no extras, and so on. I suspect a local repertory theater troupe could stage a version of Raising Victor Vargas and it would look just as good. I simply did not connect with this film in any fashion, and don’t think it’s the type of thing I’ll ever need to revisit.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/08/20

Full Review

nefasto r

It is a nice simple indi about family/love. The realism of it is what it saved it for me. Definitely not the actors, nor the amazingly thin plot. More then watchable, even good if you empathize with the characters. Still I think is a bit overrated.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Parts of it focuses on how females will fall for anything to give up the booty early on... then the romance lol

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

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Peter Sollett

Director

Victor Rasuk

Victor Vargas

Judy Marte

Judy Martinez

Melonie Diaz

Melonie

Altagracia Guzman

Grandma

Silvestre Rasuk

Nino Vargas

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Synopsis

On New York City's Lower East Side, Dominican teen and aspiring ladies' man Victor Vargas (Victor Rasuk) has nothing but girls on his mind. Though he talks a big game at the local pool, Vargas' true experience amounts to nothing more than a string of romantic rejections. After Vargas fails to improve his abysmal reputation by bedding an overweight classmate, he chooses a much more difficult target -- the stunning and stuck-up Judy Ramirez (Judy Marte).

Director: Peter Sollett
Producer: Scott Macaulay, Robin O'Hara, Peter Sollett, Alain de la Mata
Screenwriter: Peter Sollett, Peter Sollett, Eva Vives
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co: Canal+, StudioCanal, Forensic Films
Rating: R (Strong Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 28, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 28, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.1M
Runtime: 1h 28m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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