For the first hour of Spanglish I was in love: in love with Paz Vega, with the characters, with the plot.I live in Los Angeles, not far both geographically and socio-economically from the Bel-Air based family which is the center of the story. Brooks' observations of Los Angeleno attitudes and concerns are spot on, and amusing to boot. For a while, I could look beyond the terrible miscasting of Adam Sandler as the father of this dysfunctional family. I was rooting for Sandler to continue his transition from clown to actor, but it didn't happen in Spanglish. No mind, Cloris Leachman is terrific as the alcoholic grandma with a heart of gold matched with a wicked tongue. Paz Vega is just tremendous as are all the children in the movie. Even Tea Leoni, whom I usually detest in everything she does, brings a fierce, daring characterization to her part.
Then it all falls apart in the third act. The humor largely takes a bus out of town, and we're left with a long, meandering, half baked denouement (I'm trying really hard to not give anything anyway). We're treated to a couple of homilies, and a number of unresolved plot lines as if director Brooks ran out of time or interest. In my opinion, the basic problem is that Brooks couldn't decide who the movie was about: the speak no English gorgeous cleaning lady from Mexico (Paz Vega) or the Adam Sandler headed Anglo family whom she works for.
Then it all falls apart in the third act. The humor largely takes a bus out of town, and we're left with a long, meandering, half baked denouement (I'm trying really hard to not give anything anyway). We're treated to a couple of homilies, and a number of unresolved plot lines as if director Brooks ran out of time or interest. In my opinion, the basic problem is that Brooks couldn't decide who the movie was about: the speak no English gorgeous cleaning lady from Mexico (Paz Vega) or the Adam Sandler headed Anglo family whom she works for.