Real Cancun Movie Article

'The Real Cancun' really isn't worth a whole movie

By PAUL DORO Special to the Journal Sentinel

Friday, April 25, 2003

It was only a matter of time. Reality television is as popular as ever, and the folks behind MTV's "The Real World" are unleashing "The Real Cancun," the first reality feature film.

This past March (yes, March of this year), MTV sent 16 people to Cancun for eight days of spring break festivities. They were selected from open auditions held at college campuses across the country.

The eight men and eight women lived in a beautiful house on the beach. The cameras were rolling the entire time, in every room, and wherever else they went. 500 hours of footage was eventually trimmed down to about 90 minutes.

Not everyone had an interesting story line, though. The ones that did ended up with the majority of screen time:

Alan, 19, definitely emerges as the star. He's a shy boy from Texas who never had a drink is his life. Things don't stay that way for long.

Heidi and David, both 18, have been best friends for years. Soon they're off to college on opposite coasts, but there's always been something more between them.

There's also Jeremy, 22, a ladies' man with a girlfriend back home; Casey, 25, an aspiring model with no intention of being sober the entire time; and Roxanne and Nicole, wild 19-year-old twins.

Laura Ramsey, 20, from Brandon, Wis., plays a minor role in the movie.

During the eight days, they go to wet T-shirt contests, drink a lot, go to clubs, hook up, and fight. Basically, everything that already happens on "The Real World," with the exception of the T- shirt contests.

For all of the hype surrounding the film, and for all of the promises of racy footage and outrageous antics, the best way to summarize "The Real Cancun" is, well, boring.

The simple fact of the matter is that there is nothing new here. Yes, the curse words aren't bleeped out and the nudity isn't blurred, like it is on cable. But if you've seen any of the countless MTV Spring Break TV specials, you've seen this movie.

The spring breakers are the typical self-absorbed and whiny brats we see on "The Real World." One young woman, who repeatedly reminds everyone that she has the perfect boyfriend back home, still throws a tantrum when a guy she becomes friends with hooks up with a random girl.

Though they all talk about all the clubs they're going to, there are surprisingly few scenes in clubs. There are numerous dull moments where everyone just hangs around the house during the day, doing nothing.

Alan's antics do provide a few laughs, but "The Real Cancun" is a tedious exercise in the ongoing cycle of cashing in on a trend as quickly as possible. It will be shocking to no one, save for parents who will never again let their children leave the house.

The Real Cancun * 1/2

Cast: Paul Malbry, Sky Marshall, Matthew Slenske, Alan Taylor, Jorell Washington, Sarah Wilkins. Behind the scenes: Produced by Mary- Ellis Bunim, Jonathan Murray. Directed by Rick De Oliveira. Rated: R; language, sexuality, nudity, alcohol use. Approximate running time: 90 minutes.