Spanglish
Dir: James L. Brooks
2004
***
I'm being generous giving Spanglish 3 stars but it is well written, has a good story and didn't always stick to the same formulaic pace that many Hollywood films keep which I found a bit refreshing. In fact, I found it to be original and unpredictable but unfortunately it has 2 massive flaws; Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni. Adam Sandler should have been last choice to play the father, I realise he was quite popular in 2004 but he was never convincing in the role and alarm bell should have been ringing early on in the production of the film. Tea Leoni did a better job but she was far too over the top, a better actress would have been more convincing and I think what she has done since is quite telling. It is Paz Vega who really keeps the film alive, she is the only one convincing in her performance and she is the only one who looks like they're even trying, to be honest the film is beneath her. James L. Brooks used to be so funny...