Brooks’ script moves through potentially melodramatic scenarios with insight and bright humour.
Spanglish (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:157
Fresh:82
Rotten:75
Average Rating:5.9/10
Consensus: Vega shines, but the heartwarming elements feel phony, as though they belonged in a sitcom, and there is a mean streak underneath it all.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] some sexual content and brief language
Runtime: 2 hrs 11 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Dec 17, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $42,044,321
Synopsis: With SPANGLISH, writer/director/producer James L. Brooks (AS GOOD AS IT GETS) unfurls yet another accomplished, tender, romantic comedy. Celebrated chef John Clasky (Adam Sandler) is the patriarch... With SPANGLISH, writer/director/producer James L. Brooks (AS GOOD AS IT GETS) unfurls yet another accomplished, tender, romantic comedy. Celebrated chef John Clasky (Adam Sandler) is the patriarch of the Clasky household, but the mood swings of his hypersensitive wife, Deborah (Tea Leoni), are what really runs the show. When the Claskys hire the beautiful Flor (Paz Vega) to be their maid, their already rocky relationship faces some even bigger boulders. Spanish-speaking Flor is a sincere, loving single mother whose daughter, Christina (Shelbie Bruce), receives lavish displays of affection from Deborah. Meanwhile, Deborah neglects her own son and daughter in much the same way that her self-absorbed, alcoholic mother, Evelyn (Cloris Leachman), neglected her. Eventually Deborah crosses a line when she betrays her husband with the real estate broker who is helping her search for a beach house. Faced with this challenge, John and Flor, who share a clear attraction to one another, get the chance to explore their feelings. Brooks populates his film with wholly believable characters. On first glance they may seem like broad caricatures (especially in the case of the roles played by Leoni and Leachman), but the characters subvert viewers' expectations by turning into full-fledged, three-dimensional humans by the end of the film. As in PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, Sandler delivers a performance that shows his wide range of talent. [More]
Starring: Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, Tea Leoni, Cloris Leachman
Starring: Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, Tea Leoni, Cloris Leachman
Director: James L. Brooks
Director: James L. Brooks
Screenwriter: James L. Brooks
Producer: Richard Sakai, Joan Bradshaw, Julie Ansell, James L. Brooks
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
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Reviews for Spanglish
A wonderfully touching and brilliantly funny work that's as committed to its characters as it is to its audience.
Sandler is excellent, delivering a heartfelt performance that is easily on a par with his work in Punch Drunk Love.
Brooks' championing of good old-fashioned family values feels hopelessly naïve and frankly unconvincing.
While the movie has an interesting message, and conveys it in a compelling approach, its structure limits it from ever being completely successful.
It’s a bit overlong and laboured, but the heart is in the right place and John Seale’s cinematography is impressive but unobtrusive.
It is nice to see Adam Sandler in a role outside his normal wild behavior. This is an enjoyable show with a lot of substance.
Nobody breathes in "Spanglish"--they just exhale, scream, blather and sigh. And then they do it again. And then they do it again.
The film gets better as it goes along ... and all the characters, including Deborah, become more interesting and appealing as we get to know them better.
Takes the sloppy sentiment and cheap, once-a-week aesthetic of television and inflates it into an ugly, self-consciously respectable film. There's not a genuine moment in it.
'Spanglish is a nails-on-the-chalkboard movie that wants to be sweet natured.'
Amigo, in any language Spanglish is overwritten, overacted and too long.
It's not fair to call 'Spanglish' a romance comedy, because at its core it's not about romance.
Adam Sandler fans beware: There's not a trace of Happy Gilmore anywhere in this movie.
'Spanglish' is one of those films that has the potential for being terrific but falls short in clarity and focus.**
Director James L. Brooks has given us some familial and cultural truths to think long and hard about, with ironic performances to savor.
If you let yourself get sucked in, it's an enjoyable day at the movies
To appreciate Spanglish and find the beauty inside, layers need to be peeled back and Brooks’ occasional melodramatic pratfalls need to be, well, overlooked.
Latest News for Spanglish
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A half-dozen new soldiers enter the marketplace this weekend trying to topple the kingdom of "300" which has reigned supreme at the box office for the past two weeks. More...
November 09, 2006:
Box Office Guru Preview: New Pics Challenge "Borat's" Mandate
This weekend, multiplexes hope to cram in lots of moviegoers thanks to a wide selection of new films. Six movies open or expand nationally on Friday making for what will be one... More...
June 22, 2006:
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This week at the movies, we've got a magical remote control ("Click") and a father who's trying to rescue his son ("Waist Deep"). Will the critics dig... More...
June 24, 2005:
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