Posted: 12/23/2004

Spanglish

(2004)

by Hank Yuloff

Hey… Some movies live up to their warnings (trailers) in a great way. I was promised a touching and amusing story of a Hispanic maid that changes a family and that is what I got. Of course, there is a lot of heartache thrown in, but all in all, Spanglish is a great date flick that will let you laugh as well as hold hands in the dark.

James L. Brooks directs very few feature films - As Good As It Gets, Say Anything (remember the guy with the radio and the Peter Gabriel song in the rain), Broadcast News and Terms of Endearment - because he is so busy producing and writing some of the best TV and films that we watch. I don’t think Spanglish will be remembered as well as Gets and Broadcast and Terms, but it is a very good effort.

Paz Vega stars as Flor (don’t forget to roll the tongue) Moreno, a woman of extraordinary character who brings her daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) to the United States for that American Dream. After a few years in Los Angeles in which she does not integrate into American society at all, she gets a job with the Clasky family of Brentwood and her world changes. She is shown the world of the Gringo with all its wonders and foibles.

She first meets Deborah Clasky (Tea Leoni), a woman who desperately needs to be introduced to Paxil or Lithium or any other mood leveling drug because since losing her job (or maybe forever before that) she is constantly on the edge of losing it while trying to make sure people understand her. She completely alienates her daughter Bernice, who is larger than the Seventeen/Cosmo model of perfection and the tension is as palatable as if you were part of the family, standing in the room.

Leoni (People I Know, Family Man) is married to Adam Sandler who doesn’t make an appearance in this review until the 5th paragraph of this review, and doesn’t appear in the movie until 20 minutes after the credits begin. I found that to be a great touch that allows us to get to know the other characters without Sandler’s dominating presence to take over the film. Sandler is John Clasky, a world class chef who needs a touch of Deborah’s drugs. He is tortured by failure OR success…. 4 stars would drive him to the insanity of maintaining perfection, 3 stars is too little, and 3 ¼ stars would be perfect. He is the more understanding of the parents and you feel for him as the good dad who’s wife is nuts. Reminded me a lot of my friend who lives in Nebraska and his bitch of an ex-wife. But I digress. This is not a Happy Gilmore Sandler, it is a 50 First Dates Sandler. And I liked it. Also can’t wait to see The Longest Yard which I think will show us that Adam has grown up and will be a great leading man.

Something else I liked about the movie: Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show, Bad Santa) is terrific as Deborah’s mother. She is wise and funny and her delivery of lines to Leoni shows what a diamond she is in the crown of Hollywood royalty.

Negatives? The story is told through the flashback narrative of Cristina who is applying for college and uses her mom’s life as the subject of the entrance exam essay. I thought that premise was very weak, but newcomer Bruce, who plays Vega’s daughter is superb and Vega (Solo mia) is as captivating - think Penelope Cruz in Vanilla Sky - as anyone I have seen this year. Sarah Steele who plays the Clasky daughter Bernice had the interesting job of playing a brilliantly smart, yet screwed up daughter was good, but there was something I can not put my finger on about her performance that made me feel it was not completely believable. This was her first time out so I look forward to her doing much better in future efforts.

Spanglish is a movie that should not be missed.

Hank Yuloff is one of our many talented writers in Los Angeles, and dreams of having a bit part in an Adam Sandler film.

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