Illegal Tender (film)
Encyclopedia
Illegal Tender is a movie written and directed by Franc. Reyes
Franc. Reyes
Franc. Reyes is a film director of Puerto Rican descent. In 2002 he won the ALMA Award for Emerging Filmmaker. Films he has directed include Empire, which opened the New York International Latino Film Festival, and Illegal Tender.-External links:**...

 and produced by Academy Award nominee John Singleton. It stars Rick Gonzalez
Rick Gonzalez
Rick Gonzalez is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Timo Cruz in the motion picture Coach Carter, and as Ben Gonzalez on the CW supernatural drama television series Reaper.-Early life:...

, Wanda De Jesus
Wanda De Jesus
Wanda De Jesus is a Puerto Rican-American actress. She is most notably recognized for her role as the fourth actress to portray Santana Andrade in NBC's soap opera Santa Barbara...

 and Dania Ramirez
Dania Ramirez
Dania Ramirez is a Dominican-American TV and film actress.She is most recently known for playing Alex in Entourage, Maya Herrera in Heroes and Blanca during the last season of The Sopranos. She also played antagonist Callisto in X-Men: The Last Stand.-Early life:Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo,...

, the movie also marks the film debut of Reggaeton music star Tego Calderón
Tego Calderón
Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper and actor.-Early life:Calderón was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, the son of Pilar Rosario Parrilla, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Calderón Ilarraza, a government worker for Puerto Rico's Department of Health. Moving at a young age from his native...

.

Synopsis

The film opens up in Bronx, New York, 1985. Millie De Leon and her husband Wilson De Leon Sr., are expecting their first child, a son. Wilson is a drug dealer who works for a man named Javier Cordero. One night, Millie sits Wilson down and shows investments that they had made; thus, not having to worry about money. Wilson leaves to meet with Javier anyway and ends up killed by Javier's hench-women, the same night Wilson Jr., is born.

Twenty-one years later, Wilson De Leon Jr., is a college student with an adoring girlfriend named Ana with no knowledge of how he has such a lavish lifestyle. However, Wilson has a difficult relationship with his mother, Millie. Millie has gone "man-crazy" and now has an out-of-wedlock son named Randy. After seeing an "old friend" in a grocery store, Millie begins another move to which Wilson strongly objects. A heated argument ensues, with Millie telling Wilson about his late father. Wilson is uncowed and stays in his mother's old house with Ana.

Dangerous things occur within the family: Wilson and Ana are nearly killed by a couple of assassins, the family seeing a suspicious man in the park, etc. All of the events lead up to Wilson leaving for San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

 in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 to see Javier himself (He visits his Aunt Jessenia). Javier claims that his mother stole $2 Million USD from him and tells him to "go back and speak with your mother". Wilson is beaten up by Javier's thugs and is strangely taken back to his hotel in El San Juan. Upon returning to Connecticut, Wilson begins questioning the reason why everything is occurring and why the family has such a lavish lifestyle. Millie shows her son the investments made and stocks created. When asked how he ended up bruised, Wilson admits to his meeting with Javier to which Millie becomes infuriated. Then, the De Leon's find themselves under attack. After some struggling, Millie and Wilson subdue their attackers. Tearfully, Millie tells Wilson she'll do anything for him and that he is her heart.

Ana, is distraught over her boyfriend (with his mother) leaving for Puerto Rico a second time to which he replies "It has to end".

In Mora's, the nightclub owned by Javier, Wilson learns the real truth about his late father:

Javier sent Wilson to look after his 17-year-old sister Mora (for which the nightclub is named). Instead, Wilson had cheated on Millie with Mora (a sexual affair) and went so far as impregnating her. Mora had called her brother and explained the affair, expressing her love for Wilson but his love for Millie. Unable to live with the pain, Mora took several sleeping pills and committed suicide (The unborn baby was one month).

Javier thought that by killing Wilson Sr., he would find relief in losing his sister. He exclaims that his father took away the one person he had left in the world and has realized that if Wilson Sr. was alive, Wilson Jr. would be the one person he loved most. As Javier pulls out a gun on Wilson, Millie shoots him before he has the chance. Javier falls under the picture of his sister. With anger inside of her, Millie tells Javier to "look at her...take a good look, this is as far as we go" before killing him with a shot to the head. Millie and Wilson flee but are stopped by Choco, who lets them leave after a brief conversation. Wilson later lies to his mother, saying that "It was about the 2 million, just like you said." They reunite with Randy and Ana, thus ending the film.

Music

A soundtrack for the film was released to promote the film. It's only available on iTunes, and it includes one song by Tego Calderón.

Cast

  • Rick Gonzalez
    Rick Gonzalez
    Rick Gonzalez is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Timo Cruz in the motion picture Coach Carter, and as Ben Gonzalez on the CW supernatural drama television series Reaper.-Early life:...

     — Wilson De Leon, Jr.
  • Wanda De Jesus
    Wanda De Jesus
    Wanda De Jesus is a Puerto Rican-American actress. She is most notably recognized for her role as the fourth actress to portray Santana Andrade in NBC's soap opera Santa Barbara...

     — Millie De Leon
  • Dania Ramirez
    Dania Ramirez
    Dania Ramirez is a Dominican-American TV and film actress.She is most recently known for playing Alex in Entourage, Maya Herrera in Heroes and Blanca during the last season of The Sopranos. She also played antagonist Callisto in X-Men: The Last Stand.-Early life:Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo,...

     — Ana
  • Delilah Cotto
    Delilah Cotto
    Delilah Cotto is a Puerto Rican-American dancer, model, television and film actress.-Early life:Cotto was born and raised in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rican-American parents. She studied drama at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City...

     — Jessenia
  • Zulay Henao
    Zulay Henao
    Zulay Henao is a Colombian-American film and television actress. She has appeared in movies like Grizzly Park as Lola, Feel the Noise as C.C, Illegal Tender, and S.Darko as Baelyn....

     — Mora Cordero
  • Carmen Perez
    Carmen Perez
    Carmen Perez is an American dance/pop recording artist, songwriter, and actress. She was born in Bronx, New York and moved to Puerto Rico at the age of 10. She joined the U.S. Army when she was just 17 years old, being stationed in Germany, South Korea & Washington, D.C...

     — Sonia
  • Manny Perez
    Manny Perez
    Manuel "Manny" Pérez Batista is a Dominican actor, who has appeared in the television series Third Watch and in the film Washington Heights. Pérez was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and currently resides in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood.Pérez is one of 11 siblings...

     — Wilson De Leon, Sr.
  • Tego Calderón
    Tego Calderón
    Tegui Calderón Rosario is a Puerto Rican rapper and actor.-Early life:Calderón was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, the son of Pilar Rosario Parrilla, a schoolteacher, and Esteban Calderón Ilarraza, a government worker for Puerto Rico's Department of Health. Moving at a young age from his native...

    — Choco

Links

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