Fools Rush In
When you think of cultures collide what does that mean exactly? According to the dictionary cultures means “a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.” and collide means “to crash together or to crash into something.” So in essence, cultures colliding for the sake of this movie are about a White-American family intermixing with a Mexican-American family.
In this romantic comedy, cultures collide after a casual night of passion between an architect, Alex Whitman a New Yorker, and a photographer, Isabel Fuentes, a Mexican-American living in Las Vegas are brought together for one night. Three months have gone by and Isabel shows up at Alex’s house with the news she’s pregnant and it’s his baby. Isabel being concerned that her family will be upset because she is pregnant, asks Alex to meet her family for their weekly family dinner, in hopes that she can break the news to them and they will know who the dad is. Alex is surprised by this big family dinner, which show cases the Mexican side of Isabel’s culture and the warmth this big family has for each other. Coming from a more prominent white family, he tells Isabel that they only see each other for special occasions and holidays. Feeling moved by meeting Isabel’s family and on a whim, he proposes and they get married in a Vegas chapel with an Elvis impersonator who walks Isabel down the aisle. Isabel starts to wonder why Alex hasn’t told his parents about their marriage and he tells her that his parents are in Europe. When Alex’s parents come into town to visit him, they think that Isabel is the maid and Alex doesn’t correct them. After finally admitting that Isabel is his wife and not the maid to his parents, both sets of parents get together and Alex and Isabel feel that they have made a mistake. Things escalate with their parents when religion is brought up, along with their growing careers, and they both start to wonder if doing the right thing was just that, especially since Alex lives in New York and Isabel is from Nevada. As the movie progresses and Isabel is fearful that Alex has made a mistake in marrying her, she ends up in the hospital leading Alex to believe that she has lost their baby. Alex finishes his job in Las Vegas and moves back to New York while Isabel goes to Mexico to be with her grandmother to hide her growing belly. Filing for divorce, Isabel leaves her grandmothers and drives back to Las Vegas to have her baby. Alex having gotten the divorce papers starts to see signs everywhere that Isabel is the one and he needs to get back to her before the divorce is final at midnight. Waiting on the Hoover Dam Bridge, Alex waits for Isabel to drive by as she always does on her way back into town. Isabel shows up on the bridge and goes into labor and delivers a baby girl. On the night of their daughter’s birth, they become divorced, but soon remarry with both of their families together.
When cultures collide, it can be a beautiful pairing, showing you the richness that can come from peoples love for one another and the support from their family. Not everyone can be so lucky to have this kind of support and it’s sad because the world is changing and you need to embrace the change and not the ugly.
Fools Rush In Movie Trailer
Quotes from Fools Rush in –
Richard Whitman: In case you haven’t noticed, the white people are melting out here!
Alex Whitman: They’re great. I had no idea that families talked at dinner.
I really need to see this movie. It sounds like a cute funny movie. The plot of cultures colliding is something that a lot of people can relate to. Myself included. It’s sometimes hard to get two cultures to get along and see eye to eye. Whether it’s the different traditions that can get in the way or even sometimes the language could be a barrier. I think it’s a beautiful thing when two different cultures come together. To me they work through their differences and celebrate them and that makes their bond stronger. Will definitely put this movie down on my “Need to Watch” list.
I love the points you made about cultures colliding. I’ve seen this movie and love it! It’s so interesting to see two people from two very different backgrounds come together and how love can make you see past all of those differences. This movie is so relatable because we are such a diverse culture that many of us marry ones from different cultural backgrounds enabling us to expereince different cultural practices than the ones we are used to. Sometimes it can be difficult when two people of different religions come together. But people make it work every day. Whether it’s learning a language to communicate with your in-laws, trying new foods, or traveling to different countries, I agree in that when two cultures collide it’s a beautiful thing! Great review!
I love the quotes you used in your Blog from Fools Rush In. I’ve been to Arizona and it is extremely hot, I’m sure I don’t have to worry about melting. I really enjoy this romantic comedy as It compares and contrast both the American and Mexican culture.Isabel and Alex are on a journey learning about each other, while learning to deal with family. The signs are everywhere. Awesome Review!
I have seen this movie many, many times since it came out on ’97 and can quote it fluently. I am incredibly envious of the way that Isabel’s family gets together to “celebrate” even if it’s just a simple dinner. and that is one of my favorite scenes of the movie. I especially like how one of her aunt’s (a white woman who married into the family) gives Alex advice during the dinner. This movie gently pokes fun at racial barriers between two colliding cultures in a tasteful and respectful manner.
There are many times that their very different backgrounds and upbringings negatively impact their relationship, so much so that Isabel lies about having lost the baby just to give Alex the chance to escape and follow his dreams. In the end, however, Alex realizes the folly of his ways and the two are able to reconcile. My outlook for their future has always been that they were able to raise their baby girl in the most multi-cultural and accepting atmosphere as possible.
“Fools Rush In” sounds like an excellent movie to see, and I have an interest in seeing the movie now that I have read your reivew. I really like how you concluded in your blog that the world is changing and people need to embrace the change. It is good to see movies that embrace different ethnicities coming together, but also ones that reveal and challenge stereotypes bred in society. The movie seems like a fun movie that reveals a more modern culture, as many people are married into families that are from different ethnic backgrounds and acceptance is well overdue.
This would be a great movie to have a 2nd one made Fool Rush In 2. Show casing how the blended families come together and raise the baby in the different traditions and showing that being from different backgrounds can be a compliment to a child, all you need is love and your one big family.
Yes! We just watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” and while I liked the plot, I feel like it focused more on just the Greek culture than the Americanized culture. I fear that anytime you have a relationship between such a dominant culture, the weaker one will always lose out.
I like how this movie was made to show the audience that there in nothing wrong with interracial dating/marrying. It comically showed some of the difficulties experienced between two people, of different back rounds, trying to makes things work. In Fools Rush in, Alex And Isabel are culturally different yet in the end come to together because they share the same values. As you stated, this film is about cultures colliding, however by the end of ths film we come to learn that that doesn’t necessarilty mean that two people from different cultures cannot ever make it work.
I love Selma again I think that these directors pick their cast well so that certain things are over looked. I think that the Mexican culture in this film was laid on really thick! The way that they mad her character and showing the differ. Sa in cultures it was a lot of extra and the parts that could have been turned it was shown like it was still disgraceful which is an obvious message.