# Spare Parts (2015 film)
**Spare Parts** is a 2015 American drama film directed by Sean McNamara, written by Elissa Matsueda, and based on the true story of four Hispanic high school students from [Phoenix, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/phoenix-arizona), who form a robotics club and build an underwater robot from used car parts to compete against MIT, the reigning national champion.[1](https://watch.afi.com/movie/spare-parts) It was released in the United States on January 16, 2015, by Lionsgate.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Spare-Parts)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Sean McNamara; screenplay by Elissa Matsueda, from Joshua Davis's story[1](https://watch.afi.com/movie/spare-parts) |
| Source material | The 2005 WIRED article "La Vida Robot" by Joshua Davis[3](https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-true-story-behind-spare-parts/) |
| Real event | In 2004, four Carl Hayden Community High School students beat university teams, including MIT, at an underwater robotics competition at UC Santa Barbara[4](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/true-story) |
| Cast | George Lopez, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Lee Curtis, Carlos PenaVega, Alexa PenaVega, José Julián, David Del Rio, Esai Morales[5](https://www.movienco.co.uk/films/spare-parts/cast/) |
| Release | January 16, 2015 (United States); 113 minutes; PG-13[1](https://watch.afi.com/movie/spare-parts) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Spare-Parts) |
| Box office | $3,618,912 domestic; $3,701,281 worldwide[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Spare-Parts) |
| Critical reception | 58% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (31 reviews); 82% audience score[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spare_parts_2015) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The film follows four high school students at Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix, a school serving underprivileged, mostly undocumented Latino teenagers. After Oscar, an ROTC student played by [Carlos PenaVega](https://www.edgepedia.org/carlos-penavega), realizes he cannot enlist in the Army because he lacks a birth certificate, he sees a flyer for an underwater robotics competition and hopes a win might lead to a scholarship or a job. The robotics club adviser, Fredi Cameron ([George Lopez](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-lopez)), a substitute teacher who did not expect anyone to show up, works with Oscar to recruit the other members: computer expert Cristian (David Del Rio), mechanics whiz Lorenzo (José Julián), and Hector (J.R. Villarreal), who handles the heavy lifting.[7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/spare-parts) With a budget of about $800 and parts scavenged from old cars, the team builds a robot and enters a national underwater robotics contest against MIT.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spare_parts_2015)
[Marisa Tomei](https://www.edgepedia.org/marisa-tomei) plays fellow teacher Gwen Kolinsky, who helps with programming, and [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-lee-curtis) plays the school's principal, Karen Lowry.[5](https://www.movienco.co.uk/films/spare-parts/cast/) Esai Morales appears as Lorenzo's father.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/spare-parts-2015)
## The real story behind the film
The film dramatizes a documented event. In 2004, four students from Carl Hayden Community High School, Oscar Vazquez, Cristian Arcega, Lorenzo Santillan, and Luis Aranda, entered the MATE underwater robotics competition at the [University of California, Santa Barbara](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-california-santa-barbara), and defeated college teams, including MIT.[4](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/true-story) Three of the four winners were undocumented immigrants and risked deportation when they traveled to Santa Barbara for the contest.[3](https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-true-story-behind-spare-parts/)
Their robot, named Stinky, was a remotely operated vehicle built from PVC pipe, small trolling motors, cameras, and a control system. The team's fundraising brought in about $800, compared with the MIT team's roughly $11,000 budget. During the competition a leak threatened the electronics, and an improvised absorbent solution helped protect them.[4](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/true-story)
The film compresses the real mentorship into a single character. The actual teachers were Fredi Lajvardi and Allan Cameron, who created the school's robotics program; George Lopez's character, Fredi Cameron, is a composite of the two.[4](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/true-story) Lajvardi and Cameron had 54 years of public school teaching experience between them, at a school where roughly 80 percent of students lived below the poverty line.[9](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/spare-parts-teachers/)
The story reached the screen through a chain of earlier works. Joshua Davis reported it in WIRED's "La Vida Robot" in 2005; Mary Mazzio's documentary *Underwater Dreams* was released in 2014; Davis's nonfiction book *Spare Parts* was published in December 2014; and the dramatized film followed in 2015.[4](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/true-story)
## Release and box office
Lionsgate released the film in 440 domestic theaters on January 16, 2015, where it opened at number 17 with $1,335,768. It ran for seven weeks in theaters and finished with $3,618,912 domestically and $3,701,281 worldwide, with Mexico contributing $79,228 of the international total. A home video release followed on May 5, 2015.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Spare-Parts) The film was produced by Pantelion Films with Lionsgate, Televisa Cine, Travieso Productions, Circle of Confusion, and Brookwell McNamara Entertainment.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Spare-Parts)
The film's release coincided with a national debate over immigration policy. Senator [Dick Durbin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-durbin) hosted a screening with the [Center for American Progress](https://www.edgepedia.org/center-for-american-progress) on January 13, 2015, three days before the theatrical release, and used the occasion to discuss protections for undocumented residents brought to the United States as children.[10](https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-we-are-a-nation-of-immigrants)
## Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 58% Tomatometer from 31 reviews and an 82% audience score from more than 5,000 ratings. The site's critics consensus calls it "effective enough to do in a pinch for inspirational sports drama fans," while noting that most viewers will have seen these story beats before.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spare_parts_2015) Reviewers identified the film's formula as the inspirational-teacher and underdog-team drama, with the fact that all four students were undocumented as the element that distinguished it from similar films.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spare_parts_2015) The Los Angeles Times credited the performances of the young cast and the supporting actors, including Tomei, Morales, and Curtis, with carrying a predictable but crowd-pleasing script.[11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-spare-parts-movie-review-20150117-story.html) The film received an Imagen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film in 2015.[12](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/spare-parts/2000458515/)
## Aftermath for the real team
The competition was the beginning of the students' public story rather than its end. Oscar Vazquez graduated from [Arizona State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/arizona-state-university) in May 2009, later served in the US Army including time in Afghanistan, and obtained citizenship following basic training; he attended the 2016 [State of the Union](https://www.edgepedia.org/state-of-the-union) as a White House guest and testified before Congress on immigration issues.[13](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/then-now) WIRED's December 2014 update reported that Lorenzo Santillan studied culinary arts and ran a Phoenix catering business with Luis Aranda.[13](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/then-now) The team's story became part of the broader public debate over the [DREAM Act](https://www.edgepedia.org/dream-act) and legal status for undocumented students.[14](https://www.edweek.org/education/spare-parts-is-assembled-from-other-education-movies-but-still-inspires/2015/01)
## References
1. [Spare Parts, American Film Institute](https://watch.afi.com/movie/spare-parts)
2. [Spare Parts (2015) – Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Spare-Parts)
3. [The True Story Behind 'Spare Parts', Science Friday](https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-true-story-behind-spare-parts/)
4. [The true story behind Spare Parts, sparepartsthemovie.com](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/true-story)
5. [Spare Parts (2015) – Cast and crew, Movie'n'co](https://www.movienco.co.uk/films/spare-parts/cast/)
6. [Spare Parts (2015), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spare_parts_2015)
7. [Spare Parts – Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/spare-parts)
8. [Spare Parts movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/spare-parts-2015)
9. [The Real-Life Teachers of Spare Parts on What's Wrong With US Schools, WIRED](https://www.wired.com/2015/01/spare-parts-teachers/)
10. [Durbin: We Are A Nation Of Immigrants, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin](https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-we-are-a-nation-of-immigrants)
11. [Review: 'Spare Parts' cobbles together a crowd-pleaser, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-spare-parts-movie-review-20150117-story.html)
12. [Spare Parts – Where to Watch and Stream, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/spare-parts/2000458515/)
13. [Spare Parts: Where Are the Real Students Now?, sparepartsthemovie.com](https://sparepartsthemovie.com/then-now)
14. ['Spare Parts' Is Assembled From Other Education Movies, But Still Inspires, Education Week](https://www.edweek.org/education/spare-parts-is-assembled-from-other-education-movies-but-still-inspires/2015/01)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2015 to 2019 › Drama films 2015 and 2016 › Released in 2015*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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