Spanglish (2004) - Movie Review
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"Spanglish" is easily one of the most amusing and entertaining films of 2004. It isn't for Sandler fans and it isn't for people who want to be laughing non-stop from beginning to end, but it is for people who want to have a grin on their face the entire time. With a witty and sometimes quirky script and a great yet underestimated cast, "Spanglish" is easily one of the most overlooked gems of last year. The movie manages to be entertaining throughout its entire course, while superbly placing laugh-out-loud humor ever four minutes or so.
The plot is essentially that of an odd romantic comedy, about a husband, wife and beautiful housekeeper - only there really isn't any romance between the three individuals. John the husband (Sandler) is a successful gourmet chef who is a nice guy, a great dad and makes lots of money. His wife Deborah (Leoni) is a psychotic, neurotic and insensitive woman who is so frustrated that everyone is better and nicer than her that she has all but completely separated herself from her family. As for Flor the housekeeper, played by the luscious Paz Vega, she is the sanest woman in the household, but her inability to speak English (or perhaps more so the family's absolute inability to even learn one word in Spanish) causes for some tension. Though romantic sparks don't fly in the traditional sense, John and Flor hit up a plutonic relationship that verges on something more as they both attempt to vent their frustration over Deborah's antics.
The great thing about "Spanglish" is that it feels real, unlike 95 percent of romantic comedies out there. Sure, "Spanglish" is more of a drama-comedy as it deals with the more serious sides of marriage and so forth, but it doesn't end with some cliché reveal-your-feelings-at-the-airport kind of scene (sorry to those who are looking for that kind of thing). While it is still hard to accept Sandler in mature roles, he does the trick by giving us a likeable and sane character to treat as the protagonist. His performance, while coming close to overly goofy at the end, is strong, real and believable. Leoni, on the other hand, is over-the-top and annoying, but she's good enough that she actually pulls it off. Sure, her character isn't very likable, but she still manages to make us feel for her just a little bit. Of course, the real star of the show is Paz Vega, who absolutely sizzles on screen. She's so beautiful I couldn't take my eyes off her, and she also delivers a great performance in her first English-language role (even though she only speaks Spanish for the first half of the movie). Nice rack, too.
Okay, so "Spanglish" isn't completely believable. How many men get to choose between Téa Leoni and Paz Vega?
Another great performance comes in the form of Cloris Leachman, a.k.a. the grandmother. She is absolutely perfect in the role, delivering a quirky yet likable character who provides some logic to her troubled daughter despite the fact that she's a drunk. Enough said.
Don't be fooled by the previews - "Spanglish" is funny, entertaining and real. It's easily one of the better films of the year.
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Anonymous says:
May 10, 2005I went in this movie expecting something that was well done, but not amazing. I came out thinking that this movie was more than well done, and actually pretty close to amazing. Regretfully though, the movie has it's problems, and could have been much more. First though, the good. This movie is very heartfelt, funny, and well acted. Well... actually, some of it is well acted. Adam Sandler is phenomenal as the nice guy dad that has problems but keeps them up inside. He gives a very believable character, and really made the movie for me. Paz Vega gives a wonderful performance as the Spanish speeking maid. The lovebly funny grandma is played by Cloris Leachman, who gives the funniest character in the entire movie. The movie all together is very well done, and puts out everything that it's got to create a very entertaining movie. I did laugh a few times from here to there, and it wasn't all dramatic. But that is all balanced out very well, to create a dramatic comedy that will appeal to most people.
And now... the bad. No, there isn't a lot, but there is enough to keep the movie from being all that it could have been. The editing in the movie is not something to marvel at. With very noticeable problems from here to there, Spanglish begins to feel sloppy. The acting done by Tea Leoni as the bad guy mom is less then good. She begins to become a little too annoying, and has scenes in which she seems like a soap opera actress. Victoria Luna playing the daugther of Flor isn't all to great either. She makes it to the point where you just hope that you won't see her anymore in the movie because she isn't even close to being good enough for this movie. I mean... what happened to little actresses like Dakota Fanning? Anyone? Anyone? Oh well. These are pretty much the only noticeable problems throughout the movie. The rest was superb. One very entertaining movie!
A+
Anonymous says:
May 10, 2005Film viewers tended to like Spanglish better than the film reviewers. There is a reason for this--the film is flawed (more on that later) but left me feeling warmly satisfied. The main flaw is that the film (or, more accurately, the film-makers) could never establish a consistent tone. The result was a confused identity as the film decided whether to be a drama with some added humor, a comedy with some serious human drama, or slapstick--the physcial comedy, especially, seems forced and even stiff and my reaction was usually, huh? So the film kind of lurches along, like a car with standard transmission when the driver does not really know how to use a clutch.
But the film is saved from its flaws by the genuine human touch brought to it by its cast and director and by some likeable characters and one not-so-likeable one that are enhanced by strong acting throughout the cast. Tea Leoni especially deserves credit for the spirit and energy she brought to the thankless task of portraying an obnoxious, overbearing, neurotic, SUV driving wife and mom from Hell (an all-too-familiar type in the affluent communities of America) and still making the character oddly sympathetic and endearing. Of course, what can we say about Paz Vega, muy bonita senorita, and her expressive face and stength of character in her portrayal of Flor? What can we say but "muy bonita" and "muy bien"? Adam Sandler had a less strenuous challenge playing his character than Tea Leoni (who ought to win the Academy Award equivalent of the Purple Heart) and Sandler does admirably well--the husband and father John, who has become quite wealthy making a living as a chef, is a bit of wimp but that's all right--somebody's got to do it in the face of the constant assaults from Deb's relentless personality. But he is also a sane, sensitive, deeply caring man who does what Deb fails to do, love his daughter for who she is and not for the image of what she should be. What is even better is that despite the sparks that fly between the sensitive, understanding John and the subtle but intense Latina passion of Flor, NO sex scene occurs--indeed they refrain. How refreshing! It seems in nearly every romantic comedy, the clothes come off and the smitten couple go at it, usually upon first encounter! I am becoming rather bored and tired of this convention. Now I like sex scenes when they actually belong in a movie, especially when they are erotic, suggestive, and passionate, but they have become nearly obligatory and too often forced with the result that the sex is more often than not bad. I am glad to see this film did away with that convention and did something truly revoluitionary--John and Flor, despite an obvious budding passion, did not have sex! The result is a kind of sweet but still sexy little romantic interlude that was all nuance and might-have-been-but-let's-not-and-that-is-all right, because we will always remember this night even more fondly for all that. The other thing I liked about the Adam Sandler character is that he fled New York after he became a four-star chef to L.A. because becoming four-star took all the heart out of the NY restaurant. He wanted to labor in relative obscurity in L.A., developing a loyal and well-off clientale doing what he loved--being a chef and being a father and even being a husband to the nearly impossible Deb. Unfortunately, he could run from his four-star reputation but he could not hide. Once again the press found him and hung the albatross of four-star chef around his neck whereupon his character spiraled into a funk of unhappiness and even getting shit-faced drunk one night.
Finally, I have to say Victoria Luna turned in a sound acting job as the daughter of Flor--she showed off some range and versatility in the scene where she not only translates for her mother to the Adam Sandler character but becomes those characters as she translates--a little contrived to be sure but the young actress is up to the challenge of convincingly and quickly shifting gears. The final scene between Flor and her daughter is genuinely moving, and true to the experience of mothers with daughters who wonder if the daughters are going to reject all they stand for and are. The ending left a decidely good taste in the mouth.
As for my overall rating of this film, the John character will probably very much appreciate that I do not give this film a four-star rating, because of my aforementioned criticism of its tone and confused identity. However, I loved the film anyway, on its own terms, just as it is--for sometimes a film does not have to be great to be well-loved.