| The Real Cancun | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Rick de Oliveira |
| Produced by | Rick de Oliveira |
| Written by | Brian Caldirola |
| Music by | Michael Suby Snoop Dogg Simple Plan Hot Action Cop |
| Editing by | James Gavin Bedford |
| Distributed by | New Line |
| Release date(s) | April 25, 2003 |
| Running time | 96 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7,500,000 |
| Box office | $5,345,000 |
The Real Cancun is a 2003 American reality film released on April 25, 2003 in the U.S.
Inspired by the reality television genre, this film followed the lives of sixteen Americans from March 13 - 23, 2003 as they celebrated spring break in Cancún, Mexico and experienced romantic relationships, emotional strife, or just had a good time.[1]
The film was widely considered a box office bomb and was a nominee for Worst Picture at the 2003 Golden Raspberry Awards. However, film director Michael Tully has noted that it's one of the most important films of its decade because of its historical context: the filming overlapped the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Tully argues that this historical setting makes the film's depiction of young American hedonism "one of the more unintentionally brilliant statements of hypocrisy of the decade" and the film itself "a disturbingly relevant historical document".[2]
However, the film was notable for several reasons. It was released to movie theaters only a month after filming was completed,[1] and was released on DVD and home video only a couple of months after that,[3] marking one of the fastest turnarounds ever from production to theatrical release to home video. The movie is also notable as one of the first American mainstream, major studio releases to show non-simulated sexual intercourse between "cast members," although nothing explicit is shown on screen. The DVD release contained additional footage, but the producers chose not to include any explicitly pornographic images.
The movie took in $3,825,000 domestically and $1,520,000 internationally, coming well short of its $7,500,000 production cost.[4] The initial DVD release that followed was, in turn, followed in 2005 by an extended edition DVD that included extra footage.
Some early media reports suggested that this film was a theatrical spin-off of The Real World reality series, also produced by Bunim-Murray Productions, but in fact there was no direct link between the two productions.