20 years ago today the incredibly sexy Mexican coming-of-age film Y Tu Mama Tambien was released in theaters and the world was never the same. This is one of the most iconic road trip movies in the history of cinema - worldwide! That is for a good reason. It is a relatively simple coming-of-age story with two best friends, but it has some added spice for being so damned sexy. Let's take a look and celebrate this movie that gave us two young stars, masturbation, and a very famous threesome scene.
The plot follows two best friends - Julio and Tenoch who are played by Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna - whose girlfriends are going on a trip to Italy together. That leaves these two dudes to live as relative bachelors in Mexico City for the summer! Fun fact: Cuaron did not actually want to hire Diego Luna for the role because he was already a teen heartthrob and soap opera actor, but the glorious Gael was friends with him and convinced the director that this existing friendship would make the movie even more believable since the pair already had chemistry. Who could say no to Gael and his gorgeous face? This argument worked and Diego Luna got the part! So Tenoch and Julio decide to go on a road trip after going to a family wedding. That is where they meet Luisa, who is Tenoch's cousin's wife. She is played by Maribel Verdu and she is the slightly older and self-assured woman who is going to encourage these boys to have sexual and spiritual awakenings. Every road movie needs one!
The boys decide to drive to the beach and Luisa originally declined, but she called them to tell them that she changed her mind. The boys do not know until they are actually on the road that she is leaving her husband and that this is going to her own Eat Pray Love type of trip. It wouldn't be a road movie without that either! They drive through rural Mexico and meet all kinds of people along the way. Secrets are also revealed along the way with the boys confessing that they have slept with each other's girlfriends. At first, they are pissed, but one night the three of them are all relaxed and drinking a lot which causes them all to joke about their sexual adventures. They then start dancing incredibly sensually - all three of them! One thing leads to another and Luisa decides to get down on her knees in the bedroom and suck off these two gentlemen. They stand next to each other and look at one another. Will they or won't they? Oh, honey, they do! The pair makeout and one of the most famous movie threesomes in modern cinema begins. It's probably so well-regarded for how realistic and sensual it feels. They are all drunk, bonding, and feeling the freedom that the road and the summer have brought them. Why not go for it? We are definitely rooting for them to kiss and then they do. It's magical.
Alfonso Cuaron wrote, directed, and produced this film. The script was co-written by his brother Carlos Cuaron, but the actual script was rather slim. Alfonso wanted the movie to be a sort of moving document with situations as well as the actors themselves contributing to the film during the rehearsals. That means that our actors actually did quite a bit of improv! Cuaron was inspired by French New Wave films like 1962's Adieu Philippine to make this film. Adieu Philippine also features a road trip, a love triangle, and a narrator which Y Tu Mama Tambien also has. He also decided that he wanted to reimagine the very American road trip movie to explore Mexican culture and politics. The movie was somewhat of an excuse to shine a light on Mexican cultures and places that were often ignored in cinema. It was also a great excuse to shine a light on Diego and Gael who were both young and ready to show the world what they could do. While Diego Luna had been acting since he was a kid in the 90s, Gael had only dabbled. Prior to this movie, he was in Amores Perros made by Alejandro G. Iñarritu of Birdman fame. It is fascinating to see how all of these artists' lives were intertwined in the early 2000s and what became of all of them. Iñarritu would win an Oscar and the two nude stars of Y Tu Mama Tambien would become indispensable film stars in movies made around the world. All of this because they masturbated on diving boards in Y Tu Mama Tambien. Okay, maybe that was not THE thing that sparked their entire careers, but I like to think it helped.
The film was most notable for having very explicit sex and drug use and it became the highest-grossing box office opening in Mexican film history. The film was so popular that it was released under its Spanish title to English-speaking audiences - something that is not often done! Hey, we can't help it. Americans love things to be easy! It was originally released with an NC-17 rating due to all of the sex which caused Roger Ebert to openly criticize the rating systems, saying he had seen far worse violence in films with lower ratings than this beautiful movie. Thank you, Roger!
Since this movie's release, the two young stars have become major international players. Diego Luna has been in countless Mexican and American movies, including Star Wars where he plays Cassian Andor in Rogue One. He was also adorable in Milk as Jack Lira and can be admired in Narcos: Mexico. Gael Garcia Bernal has since starred in tender dramas like Mozart in the Jungle, The Motorcycle Diaries, and he was even the voice of Hector in the Pixar animated movie Coco. I'd recognize that voice - and body - anywhere! So going nude in this 2001 film clearly worked out for both of them. They have had long and beautiful careers and neither of them is anywhere done yet. We love that they keep acting and keep doing nude scenes, but their work 20 years ago in Y Tu Mama Tambien remains incredibly sexy.
Watch one of their famous scenes here:
