Movie Review: "Spare Parts"
“Spare Parts,” a movie directed by Sean McNamara, is a true story that follows a group of Hispanic students from Phoenix, Arizona who form a robotics club. Its primary focus is to educate viewers on the problems that undocumented students face, and the film does so with humor and good old-fashioned romance. It is humbling to watch teens work tirelessly to fight for their version of the American Dream, despite the impending possibility that they could be deported.
In the movie, four students seek to compete in a competition against prominent schools across the country, including the defending champion, MIT. A student at Carl Hayden High School, Oscar Vasquez (Carlos PenaVega), initiates this endeavor, after finding out that his dream of joining the U.S. Army is unattainable due to his status as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Oscar collaborates with the new substitute teacher, Fredi Cameron (George Lopez), who is an engineer. Actor George Lopez adds humor to the film and plays the key role of inspirational teacher, much like Sidney Poitier in “To Sir, With Love.”
“Spare Parts” is a triumphant story of a forgotten minority: teenagers that came to the United States as children. Oscar and Mr. Cameron are able to recruit three other students for the competition. The first person they reach out to is Lorenzo Santillan (Jose Julian.) Lorenzo is a genius when it comes to mechanics and makes a living out of fixing cars. They also enlist the school nerd, Cristian Arcega (David Del Rio,) who loves to code. Sadly, his peculiar inclination for computers makes him the victim of bullying at the high school. Lastly, they find someone to provide the muscles of the operation, a sensitive giant named Luis Aranda (Oscar Gutierrez.) Together, they look through thrift shops, hardware stores, and classrooms at school for spare parts that can be used to build a robot. Unlike the prestigious colleges against which they compete, the team of four has no experience and barely any funding. Through their work, Mr. Cameron grows closer to the team of Mexican students and becomes a father figure to Lorenzo.
The film is eye-opening to the reality of numerous people living in America today. It shines a light on the economic and legal struggles, as well as the chronic fear that immigrants live with every day. Despite the presence of a serious issue, the film can, at times, be light-hearted given the severity of their obstacles. There was an especially hilarious and light scene where the young men go into a supermarket because they need to buy tampons to help the engine resist some water that may leak in. Lorenzo picks the short straw and awkwardly asks a lady in the store which is best and buys it before anyone could tease him about it. Despite this taking away from the serious overall message, it was hard not to laugh. This humor helped viewers understand that, though they had much to worry about, the teens were still young and childish. There were also a few cliche scenes: the romance between two teachers, a judgemental father finally accepting his son for who he is, and the underdogs’ big win. They could all be easily anticipated from the beginning, but still one cannot help but to melt at the sight of Lorenzo’s dad flying to the competition and congratulating his son for building a robot which is something the father doesn’t understand.
Thanks to “Spare Parts,” the viewers are exposed to a new viewpoint—the fact that it is crucial for the world to become aware of who immigrants really are. Finally, a film truly shows a group of minority students in a successful and challenging environment. However foreseeable, what eventually happened to these four brilliant men conveys the sad reality that, despite their incredible achievements and overcoming so many hardships, one of the boys’ families was deported. Yet, the others had better fortunes, with Cristian Arcega gaining admittance into MIT later that year. The film, though predictable at times, is a must-see. It effectively portrays the struggles of immigrants and lets the viewer empathize with the lives of four young undocumented immigrants, whose defiance of the perceived norm leads them to the big win that we hoped for all along.