What looks like a lighthearted comedy winds up giving strong messages in "Casi Divas," a 2008 film.The story concerns a "Scarlett O'Hara" type nationwide search for a telenovela character for a feature film. She's played on TV by a temperamental diva Eva (Patricia Llaca) who is furious she's not doing the movie, but the film will harken back to the character's more ingenue and virginal days...Eva's been playing the role for a while now.Out of a massive campaign - based on a true story of a similar casting call where 100,000 Mexican women turned up - four become finalists. One, a blond, Ximena (Ana Layeska) comes from a wealthy family, will do anything for the role; Francisca (Maya Zapata) is from Oaxaca, and she is discriminated against because she is Indian; Catalania (Diana Garcia) is from Juarez, where young women disappear and are turned out as prostitutes. Finally, Yesinia (Daniela Schmidt) plays a woman with a secret.After all the auditions and Miss America type questions, Eva's attempts at seducing the creator of the show, Ximena jumping Alejandro (Julio Bracho) in his vehicle, the film turns quite serious. Each of these young women finds out who they are and what they want through the process. It's quite moving.I can't dissect this film the way true Mexicans have - these women are supposedly all stereotypes, the town of Juarez is misrepresented as a vast wasteland, etc., but the film does show up some of Mexico's problems under the guise of comedy.One problem I had was that, to me, Yesinia was completely wrong for the role, yet she is in the finals. Her role is important, but perhaps it could have been cast better so she fit in. Nevertheless, the cast does a fine job.

I checked out this DVD at the library. I was expecting it to be a ditzy comedy about young debutantes with a lust for fame. While this may be somewhat true, Issa Lopez depicted the characters as human beings. The movie revolve around 4 young women and the Diva, Eva Gallardo. The women's paths cross when they audition for a reprise of "Eva Enamorada".There is Yesenia, an intersex woman who may be bisexual (depending on one's interpretation). She is a hairdresser in a lower class community in Mexico city. She deals with a lot of gender discrimination. Her family is loving and supportive, though a bit chaotic (in a funny way). She wants to transcend her mundane life as a famous actress.Ximena Lizarraga is a rich girl from Guadalajara. She is very insecure about her body because she was a chubby child. Her childhood love interest ridiculed her. She subjected herself to 4 surgeries and rigorous diets in order to have a model figure. She wants the leading role in order to vindicate herself and exact revenge on those who called her 'foca' (seal in Spanish).Catalina is a maquiladora worker from Juarez. Initially her biggest motivation to be the next "Eva Enamorada" is for safety reasons. Her life in Chihuahua is hell, and she unsuccessfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. A few of her friends have disappeared. The local thug, Satan, is an organized criminal capable of anything.Francisca is an indigenous woman from Oaxaca. She is a rural woman with strong family values. Frank is proud of her heritage and has strong convictions about Mexico's treatment of its Native Indians. She is the only literate person in the village. She travels to the audition to make her family proud and hopefully shatter negative attitudes about dark skinned people. She learn a lot about herself as a woman during the auditioning process.Eva Gallardo is a 30ish soap opera diva who is unapologetic about throwing tantrums on set when things do not go her way. She has a dark past that always haunts her, and makes her insecure. She has a love-hate relationship with Alejandro, the producer of Eva Enamorada. They often engage in mudslinging; and in a strange way that is the way that they show love for each other. She does anything to knock out potential competition.It is true that these characters are stereotypes, but all comedies are based on stereotypes. This way, everybody gets it and can laugh at each others differences. The movie strikes a delicate balance between a drama and a comedy (a dramedy). I enjoyed the way that the movie did not have a one size fits all happy ending. One or two characters had a 'happy ending' and the rest had the Cinderella experience (think about what happened at 12 midnight).In our fame obsessed society one could take this as a commentary on celebrity. Even though we all know that an actor's job is to be on TV, it is easy to sometimes believe the hype that one is bombarded with. Their bodies are imperfect; and they have blemished backgrounds. They are just like us, only with an army of PR experts, makeup artists, fashion and computer designers (i.e. Photoshop) and a little more money.

Eva, a sexy star of one of Mexico's most popular "telenovelas", is, in reality, a "primadonna". She thinks nothing of having temper tantrums and walk out of a set if things don't go her way. To make matters worse, she is nearing that certain age as her looks are starting to fade. Well, she is in for the biggest surprise of her life. Alejandro, the producer of the successful soap opera, has decided to launch a search for an unknown talent that will play the new version of the series. Never underestimate a woman who feels betrayed!This light comedy, conceived and directed by Issa Lopez, is a fun film to watch. The film is just a spoof about those bigger than life soaps that are so popular in the country, as well as in the rest of the world. The Mexican television industry has made this form of entertainment a great escape for people that love to follow the complexities of lives so much different from theirs. Director Lopez injects a bit of criticism in the way each of the principals have had to deal with real problems in a society that subtly discriminate them in favor of the more European looking women that are the stars of those 'telenovelas'.Patricia LLaca and Julio Bracho play Eva and Alejandro, the star, and the creator of the famous soap opera. Maya Zapata is Francisca, the girl from rural Oaxaca who gets to the finals, but finds out she can't live a life that is not real. Daniela Schmidt is Yesenia, a girl with a big secret. Diana Garcia plays Catalina, a young woman from the border town where who wants justice for the many victims that have died attempting to cross the border. Finally, Ana Layeska, is seen as Ximena, a spoiled brat that wants to have it her way.The film is entertaining and don't expect nothing more than to be amused for its duration thanks to Issa Lopez and everyone involved in the production.

I am not an expert on film and much less I'm the most qualified person to make a comment about a film, then I'm exactly going to write, with less offensive words, what I think about the worst Mexican film of all time, and not because we have a lot of art films but actually Issa Lopez offends any Mexican with his "Casi Divas" To begin the movie is full of clichés and stereotypes that only the people of Mexico City, I want to clarify that not most, but people with little culture believed on people of other states. So Issa ridicules the majority of women and paints as many people abroad think that Mexico is, a place of marginalized, uneducated, naive and corrupt and useless mentally. And is that all the characters in the film are pseudo-animals with hollow head and that is what she wants to say about their Mexican roots. Yes, this is the vision of an "artist".I thank really not have paid to see this film and give me sad to recognize that in my country we continue to fund films that have a lack of creativity and intelligence, that unscrupulous people try to sell us a "comedy" moralists with dyes that are ridiculous, as his course tragedy of the dead women of Juarez or Yesenia, and at the end people leave saying "this is good film." So we still do not progress in many ways.In short, Casi Divas has dismal performances, script and all the technical resources that want to use during the film. I wish I could say that this is an isolated case but I am sure that will be repeated. The only thing left to ask is Why Issa tearing the Mexican film even more, do not simply that it were degraded for many years? Why Issa? Why?I Just want to add something: Issa López = René Cardona Jr. Think about it.