I did not expect to enjoy this film as much as I did. From what it sounded like, it was another drama about how a family struggles to stay together, and it was, but it was a very entertaining one. The movie follows various members of a family around through the years 1926 to 1980. I'd almost classify this as an anthology because of many different story lines based around various members of the family. The first story is Jose Sanchez's struggle to get in to the United States, and how he met Maria (when younger played by Jennifer Lopez). The second story, set 25 years later, is about daughter Irene's wedding and son Chucho's gang life. The third story, set another 20 years later, is about son Jimmy and when he gets out of prison, gets married, has a son, goes back in prison and tries to make up with his 5 year old estranged son raised by his grandparents. I wouldn't say that this is Acadamy Award material but it is still a very compelling story that had me wanting to know more about the family as the stories progressed.
My rating: *** out of ****. 122 mins. R for a scene of violence, sex, language.
My rating: *** out of ****. 122 mins. R for a scene of violence, sex, language.