A movie that nearly succeeds in spite of itself, A Day Without a Mexican takes a look at what would happen to California if all the Latinos vanished. The premise is creative though the results are predictable: Crops go unpicked, restaurants go unbussed and the Jimmy Smits and Salma Hayek fan clubs have to disband.
The film's promise is ruined by director Sergio Arau's distrust of the audience's intelligence to get the underlying messages of acceptance and gratitude. We are beaten over the head with mini morality plays, indignant speeches and subtitles giving us factoids like, Guatamalans and Hondurans aren't Mexican.
The crude script is paired with bad acting and an unwillingness to cut any scenes. Even a first-year liberal arts student and card-carrying member of La Raza would be hard-pressed to sit through this lecture without squirming.