Better Late Then Never

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The main theme of the film is 'showing that you love'. The comedy is a little oversimplified and uneven, though but for a clunky period following the prelude it's a film that could easily have merited a higher recommendation. The performances are all good. Spanish beauty Paz Vega is charming, and Adam Sandler gives a very thoughtful portrayal. Altogether they produce a moving story about family problems and self-identity.

I started watching this just hoping for a few laughs, this being an Adam Sandler movie. Instead, I found a deep story dealing with issues relevant to real life: what are the values that define you as a person? What is acceptable and what is not? Why one has to draw the distinction between what feels good and what is good?Spanglish is a good movie backed up by some great performances by Paz Vega and Adam Sandler. Tea Leoni performs her role well and Cloris Leachman is an able support, at times adding a flavor of dry comedy. I won't reveal the plot. All I'll say is it is worth your time. A funny movie with a solid story and something to take away later.

This is a wonderful and inspiring story about a family with flaws and two new members welcomed into that family.And of course it is the story of a Latina girl who has the chance to stand out among many equally qualified candidates for Princeton. Aimee Garcia does quite nicely narrating.Tea Leoni as Deborah is pretty but comes across as shallow, really trying to be nice but constantly messing up. It's a fine performance. One of the best scenes has her enthusiastically welcoming Cristina, the beautiful daughter she didn't know Flor had, because now she can have a perfect daughter too. Her own daughter is not physically attractive and is overweight but not unhealthy, and can never seem to please her. And yes, Bernice notices this.Paz Vega reminds me of Salma Hayek, at least in appearance. But both are quality actresses too. Flor is so pleasant and loving but she can get upset when the situation calls for it. And of course once the time comes, she is determined to learn English.Shelbie Bruce does a wonderful job. Her best scene is one where she must translate for her mother, but she does more than merely say the words. She effectively communicates her mother's emotions as well. It's like a scene from "Freaky Friday". And she has another standout moment where John is only kidding but she really seems upset about what he said.Sarah Steele is also likable as the not so perfect Bernice. There's nothing so wrong with her. She's just an ordinary girl, like most girls.Cloris Leachman does her usual wonderful job, especially later in the movie. She mostly just has funny lines which add a lot, but as Deborah's mother advising her daughter who is falling apart, she really stands out.Adam Sandler is the weak link here. That only means everyone in a major role is good, and he is just the least talented among them. He does a great job playing Adam Sandler, the one who is not a loser and is mostly nice. John is quite a likable character. And yet there's nothing really special. John has lessons to learn here but he's less flawed than his wife. And of course he has a difficult choice when he must decide career or family, and his family means everything.I did think Georgie wasn't used enough. That may be the only real weakness here.The ending leaves us wondering. That's all I will say.Is it a family-friendly film? Not quite, but older children should be fine with it. Even younger children might be able to handle the version I saw, which may have been cleaned up for TV.Regardless, it is a worthy effort.

SpanglishAccording to Wikipedia, a survey of the reviews by Rotten Tomatoes, say "53% of critics gave Spanglish a positive review.[3] Its proponents claim it is a portrayal of the difficulty of family problems and self-identity. Negative reviews said it was "uneven", "awkward", and "mean-spirited".After I wright this I will look at those reviews to see what happens. Maybe it will confirm I know everything or nothing or somewhere in between. Please keep in mind one doesn't have to be a wordsmith to have something to say. That said I think this movie has the following going for it. Before we get into that though I just watched the trailer. One of the things that it had going against it (it lost money) was how it seems to have been marketed, but I think it is a good movie. Maybe If I actually do know something id will be a good source of cultural development one day. Kind of like the admiration towards Neil Armstrong or Niel Haggart for that matter. But anyway to me this movie portrays a cross section of society and touches on: Family values How to confront problems within the family dynamic Questions I think most parents ask of themselves That's all I can remember. I think its one of those worth watching again.Are awkward, uneven, and mean spirited feelings toward this movie correlated with beliefs that social inequality is inevitable?If it pleases and sparkles.