The new, independent comedy-drama "I Like It Like That" is a look at life in the inner city, where families are fractured, kids are surrounded by drug dealers and life's day-to-day struggles are especially tough.
Unlike many of her peers, however, Darnell Martin takes an optimistic viewpoint and a hopeful outlook at inner-city life in her first outing as a writer-director.
But that is not to say that her film is without an edge. "I Like It Like That" is as gritty as they come, with wall-to-wall foul language, some explicit sexuality and harsh sense of the reality of life in the Bronx.
Lisette (Lauren Velez) and Chino (Jon Seda) have loads of problems — most of them his. Chino is compulsive, impulsive and doesn't treat his wife with tenderness or respect. And he may be the father of another woman's child.
But he does provide for his family, working as a bicycle messenger, and Lisette knows that deep down, Chino has a good heart, that he really does love her and their three children, and that he has a desire to do the right thing.
And despite outward appearances, he's also much more reliable and focused than anyone else she knows.
Then one night, during a blackout in their Bronx neighborhood, Chino runs off, promising to get his wife the stereo she's always wanted. As a result, he lands in jail for looting, with bail set at $1,500.
In an effort to raise bail money, and as a means of putting food on the table without resorting to welfare — and to strike out on her own for the first time — Lisette goes in search of a job.
Despite her intelligence and tough exterior, however, Lisette has no job skills. So, when the opportunity arises, she uses street-smarts to con an egotistical music video producer (Griffin Dunne) into using her knowledge of Hispanic life to sign a popular Latino brother act.
Lisette's success gives her confidence, and soon she is ready to take on the world. But her troubles are just beginning.
Martin's film is rough around the edges, with a low-budget look, a few uneven performances and some plotting that could use polishing. But she has developed the lead roles very well, with both Lisette and Chino gradually becoming complex, fully rounded human beings, with all the failings and strengths that make for most compelling characters. And the casting is perfect, with newcomer Velez a wonderful heroine, and Seda ("Gladiator," "Zebrahead") a terrific tough-on-the-outside macho man who has to learn to "Try a Little Tenderness" (Lisette's favorite song).
There are quite a few supporting characters, the most prominent being Lisette's brother Alex (Jesse Borrego), a cross-dresser who calls himself "Alexis" and is saving for a sex-change operation. Borrego takes what could have been a stereotypical character and invests him with some real humanity, avoiding the expected cliches.
It's also nice to see Rita Moreno again, though her role as a shrill mother-in-law is one-note. And, for that matter, Dunne's yuppie video producer is also rather flat and cartoonish.
But Lisa Vidal has some nice moments as the neighborhood vixen, set on stealing Chino from Lisette, and 10-year-old Tomas "Tommy" Melly, as Lisette and Chino's troubled son, is very touching, at his most effective when he is called upon to express pain through those soulful eyes.
In all, "I Like It Like That" could be better. But as it is, there is much to relish for audiences who want a gritty story that is both tough and hopeful.
The film is rated R for considerable profanity, as well as some sex, nudity, violence and vulgarity.