CULTURE CLASH IN AMERICCA
D: Emilio Estevez; with Ric Salinas, Herbert Siguenza, Richard Montoya
Documentary Feature Spotlight
For those familiar with Culture Clash when they first appeared in 1984 but who’ve since lost track of them, this new film by Emilio Estevez provides a refreshing glimpse at how far these guys have come and what they’ve been up to. Culture Clash – Ric Salinas, Herbert Siguenza, and Richard Montoya – rarely make it to these parts, so it was a delight to see how the group has evolved from perform-on-the-fly jokesters to seasoned actors. In this elegantly filmed performance of one of their newest works, the team moves from their once Chicano-centric view of the world to capture other brown, marginalized, and eccentric voices to define what it means to be an American post-9/11. Filmed before a live audience, Estevez’s film is a flattering presentation of Culture Clash’s spot-on characterizations, droll observations, and their brand of locura necessary to make sense of it all.
This article appears in March 25 • 2005.