A Day Without a Mexican

A Day Without a Mexican is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Sergio Arau in his directorial debut from a screenplay co-written with Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Guerrero.[1] It stars Yareli Arizmendi, John Getz, Maureen Flannigan, Muse Watson, Fernando Arau, and Eduardo Palomo. The plot offers a satirical look at the consequences of all the Mexicans in the state of California suddenly disappearing (with a mysterious "pink fog" surrounding the state preventing any communication or movement with the outside world). The film earned over $10 million at the box office and received generally negative reviews from critics.

This article is about the 2004 film. For the nationwide boycott in 2006, see Great American Boycott.

A Day Without a Mexican
A poster featuring a white couple holding cleaning supplies. The tagline reads, "There goes the neighborhood."
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySergio Arau
Screenplay by
Based onA Day Without a Mexican
by Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Arau
Produced by
  • Eckehardt Von Damm
  • Isaac Artenstein
Starring
CinematographyAlan Caudillo
Edited byDaniel A. Fort
Music byJuan J. Colomer
Distributed byTelevisa Cine
Release date
  • May 14, 2004 (2004-05-14)
Running time
100 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • Mexico
  • Spain
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish
Box office$10.1 million

Cast

Release

The film opened on May 14, 2004, in limited release throughout Southern California and on September 17 in theaters in Chicago, Texas, Florida, and New York City as well as San Jose.

Reception

Box office

A Day Without a Mexican grossed $5.9 million in Mexico, and $4.2 million in the United States and Canada, for a worldwide total of $10.1 million.[2] In Mexico, the film earned $2.7 million from 330 theaters in its opening weekend.[3] In the United States, the film as only a moderate box-office success, earning $628,807 in its first weekend.[4]

Critical response

The film received negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 27% of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Day Without a Mexican is a preachy and heavy-handed satire that fails to deliver anything of substance."[5] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 30 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[6]

Ella Taylor of the LA Weekly describes it as, "A terrific premise is mangled to a pulp, then beaten to death in this forced mockumentary." E! was less kind, stating, "This Day not only lacks Mexicans but also good acting, sharp storytelling, and humor."[7] At the Cartagena Film Festival, the film earned a nomination for Best Film and won Best Screenplay. It also earned a special jury award at the Gramado Film Festival and Best Editing at the Guadalajara Film Festival.

See also

References
  1. Cooper, Tracie (2014). "A Day Without a Mexican". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 8, 2014.
  2. "A Day Without a Mexican (2004)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  3. "Mexican 2004 Week 32". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  4. "Domestic 2004 Weekend 20". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. "A Day Without a Mexican". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  6. "A Day Without a Mexican". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  7. "A Day Without a Mexican". E!. May 14, 2004.


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