Piñero (2001)
Directed by Leon Ichaso

Piñero isn't a very good movie, but it's a cool movie and that works for me. Benjamin Bratt, fresh off his success with the solo album Bratt on the Beat: A Tribute to the Ramones, plays New York poet Mañuel Piñero, ex-con, junkie, thief, blazing genius. I love movies about people who burn bright and burn out. All the better if they hovered on the fringes of fame but never managed to break out of their wild personal chaos.

I know nothing about Piñero, and this film didn't make me want to go read his poetry. Curiously, it made me want to watch Miami Vice (Piñero was a guest star on that show, apparently). Bratt is excellent, though it's not that well-rounded a performance; you catch the poet at the tail end of a long decline, so this performance is more about fire than range.

The arbitrary juxtaposition of color and black-and-white doesn't add much to the proceedings except a vague sense that the director really wanted this film to look arty. The supporting performances are all fine, though nothing stands out. Mandy Patinkin plays Joseph Papp, which is vaguely interesting.

But really now: Aren't there other actors besides Rita Moreno who can play somebody's Latina mother? "Hmm, Latina mother. Oh hell, we'll just get Rita Moreno." I swear, it's like if you have Scott Baio around, you feel compelled to cast Ellen Travolta as his mother or sister.

Review by Paulina Nelson