Raising Victor Vargas

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In Theaters: March 28, 2003 (limited)

R | 1h 28m | Drama

Manhattan's gritty, majestic Lower East Side is the sweltering romantic playground for Victor Vargas (Rasuk), a self-styled teenaged Casanova who, despite his adolescent hubris, has a lot to learn about love. Eager to protect his street-cred after his friends discover he's been sleeping with upstairs neighbor "Fat Donna" (Maldonaldo), Victor sets out to nab a new girl. Much to her annoyance, popular "Juicy Judy" Ramirez (Marte) finds herself the object of Victor's relentless attention. After a humiliating series of public rejections, Victor strikes a bargain with Judy's younger brother Carlos (Vasquez). In exchange for a date with Victor's younger sister, Vicky, Carlos will help Victor win Judy's affections. His plan proves successful and Judy agrees to tolerate him as "her new man," securing Victor's place high atop the neighborhood's social pecking order.

Unfortunately, his hilariously cantankerous old-school grandmother (Guzman), with whom he and his siblings live, is convinced that Victor's teenage sexual antics make him a bad kid. Caught between regaining his grandmother's trust and helping his kid brother and sister negotiate the often baffling ways of the world, Victor discovers that there's a difference between acting like a man and becoming one.