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Back Shelf Beauties
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Spanglish Even with promises of not being a typical Adam Sandler movie, I had my reservations about Spanglish. However, those reservations disappeared in the first 10 minutes. Spanglish is a movie WITH Adam Sandler, but it's a movie ABOUT families, love and coping, not the big name above the title. Like a fisherman, they use Sandler to lure you in, then hook you on everything else. Paz Vega stars as Flor - a Mexican single mother who decides to leave her home country for the promise of a new future in America. While she has struggled and succeeded in her new land without being able to speak English, Flor realizes she needs more money and more time with her charming, smart daughter, Cristina (Shelbie Bruce). Deborah (Tea Leoni) hires Flor to be her family's maid at their beautiful, palatial home in the hills, but things get much more complicated as the two families start to become more involved in each others' lives. Will Deborah be a bad influence on Cristina? Will Deborah and her husband, John (Adam Sandler) be able to keep their marriage together? Spanglish is more adept at balancing humor and drama than just about any movie I have seen this year. Writer/director James L. Brooks carefully has crafted a complex tale about families, cultural clashes, marriage, and fame that always seems to hit the right tone when going for a joke, tugging at our heartstrings or outraging us. This delicate balance doesn't fall into preachiness or over sentimentality, even when the various characters have their BIG SPEECH moments, because Brooks doesn't oversell those moments to us. He weaves them into the movie, instead throwing a huge spotlight on them. While Sandler might be the big name in all of the movie's ads and posters, Brooks makes sure the women of Spanglish have the best roles and biggest moments. Brooks has single-handedly revived Leoni's career, and she should send him the most extravagant, luxurious present in the history of the world (I'm thinking pumpkin cheesecake). Deborah is the kind of character actors dream of taking on, because the character will live in our heads for years and years after we see the movie (in a good way, not in my head like Angelina Jolie in Alexander or The Olsen Twins in New York Minute. I still get the shakes when I think of those movies). Leoni is absolutely amazing as she shows Deborah's wild mix of selfishness, rudeness, meanness, neurosis, angst and thick-headedness, all with a savvy veneer of charm. She makes sure we will hate Deborah as much as everyone else does in the movie, but also gives her enough likeability to make us understand why some characters still give her a chance. Best of all, Leoni is the actor who most understands how to get us in touch with the joke, tug at our heartstrings or outrage us at her insensitivity. This is the promise she displayed in early TV work, and it is awe inspiring to watch her bring this character to life. In addition to Leoni, Vega and Cloris Leachman round out the cast, but that is a pithy statement that doesn't describe their importance in this movie. Leachman, who plays Deborah's mother, is hilarious as the former great singer who spends most of her time lounging around with a glass of alcohol in her hand, but, like all great mothers, she gets a moment to show her wisdom and caring nature when it counts. Meanwhile, Vega is enchanting and, dare I say, inspiring as the woman struggling to keep her daughter on the right path. It is Vega's ability to convey this struggle and her overall ability to love that makes Flor the movie's true lead, and makes her relationships with the other characters meaningful for us. My only objection to the movie is Brooks' missed opportunity to use two very talented young actors. Sarah Steele (Bernie) and Bruce both are very charming and engaging personalities, and I think Brooks could have shown us more of them and their interactions together to help further explain the relationship and differences between the two families. After starting off as a major player in the film, Steele's role shrinks. Maybe that is intentional to show Deborah's attitude towards her and the other characters, but I think more of Steele would have been a good thing. Spanglish could be the most surprising movie of the year, and I barely mentioned that Sandler guy's appearance, which isn't too bad either. See this one as soon as you can. 3 ¾ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2004 - WaffleMovies.com
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