From Prada to Nada (2011)

A Latina spin on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility," where two spoiled sisters who have been left penniless after their father's sudden death are forced to move in with their estranged aunt in East Los Angeles.

Director:

Angel Gracia

Writers:

Fina Torres (screenplay), Luis Alfaro (screenplay)

Stars:

Camilla Belle, Alexa PenaVega, Kuno Becker

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Camilla Belle	...	Nora Dominguez
Alexa PenaVega	...	Mary Dominguez (as Alexa Vega)
Tina French	...	Old Librarian
Luis Rosales	...	Juanito
Pablo Martínez de Velasco	...	Pablo the Gardener
Alexis Ayala	...	Gabriel Dominguez Sr.
Norma Reyna	...	Carmina
Adriana Barraza	...	Aurelia Jimenez
Oliverio Gareli	...	Marco Antonio Ramirez
Catalina López	...	Trinita
José María Negri	...	Benjamin Kerensky
Mario Zaragoza	...	Federico
Pablo Cruz	...	Gabriel Dominguez Jr.
April Bowlby	...	Olivia
Nicholas D'Agosto	...	Edward Ferris

Storyline

When their dad dies on his 55th birthday, Beverley Hills sisters, Mary and Nora, find themselves destitute, forced by a grasping sister-in-law to move in with their aunt in East L.A. Mary, the younger sister, is mortified: spoiled by her dad, ignorant of Spanish, scared of the vatos. Her sister convinces her to finish college, and she promptly decides that one of her T.A.s will be her ticket back to Rodeo Drive. Elder sister Nora, a law student, gets a job as a legal intern, and Edward, her supervisor, the brother of the grasping sister-in-law, promptly falls for her. Slowly, the sisters realize what a rich place the barrio is at the same time that they get bruised in the contact sport of love.

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Plot Keywords:

hispanic | beverly hills | latina | law student | bankrupt | 

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Taglines:

Coming Pronto

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief drug use and a sexual situation

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official MySpace

Country:

Mexico USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

28 January 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sense and Sensibilidad

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,115,638, 30 January 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,016,244, 27 March 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

MWM (MadisonWellsMedia),Gilbert Films,Lionsgate

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

New-age version of Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility.

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Goofs

When Nora and Edward are kissing in the kitchen, Mary walks into the kitchen and claims to get a fork when she actually grabs a spoon out of the drawer and hurries out of the kitchen. This is not a character error, it's a joke of the movie. She calls the spoon a fork because she is flustered in the moment.

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Quotes

Mary Dominguez: Who is he?
Carry Sullivan: I heard his father is an ambassador to one of those countries with fruit flies.

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Connections

References Frida (2002)

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Soundtracks

Pachangueando
Written by Ramon F. Nova and Maya Martinez
Performed by Pacha Massive
Courtesy of Nacional Records

User Reviews

Lose the Jane Austen expectations and you'll be fine

Ostensibly a modern retelling of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility", the sisters Nora Dominguez (Camilla Belle) and Mary Dominguez (Alex Vega) are now rich Latinas who grew up rich and ignorant of their culture. When they lose their father and their fortune, they are forced to live with their poor relatives in East L.A.

Jane Austen doesn't always translate completely to modern times. Marriage just doesn't have the same importance as in Jane's times. The culture has changed in 200 years. But if we take the story without the Austen expectations, it works relatively fine.

However not everything is as fine as others. Mary is a little too privileged and ignorant to be likable for my taste. Alex Vega is playing her too much like a stereotype. And the production value is a little bit limited. With good actors available, they needed a more experienced director. Angel Gracia could only give us a made-for-TV level of style. Overall this rom-com is much richer of a story than most. It is definitely better than most of Lifetime or Hallmark romance.