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Spanglish
2004
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 .. Read more
| Starring | Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, Paz Vega, Cloris Leachman |
|---|---|
| Director | James L. Brooks |
| Genres | Comedy, Romance |
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Spanglish
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.
| Starring | Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, Paz Vega, Cloris Leachman, Shelbie Bruce, Victoria Luna, Cecilia Suarez |
|---|---|
| Director | James L. Brooks |
| Studio | SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 6 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Feisty Females, 100 Rom-Coms |
| Genres | Comedy, Romance |
| Language | English |
| Dubbed | Spanish |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Danish, English, Finnish, Hebrew, Hindi, Icelandic, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 27 Jun 2005 Production year: 2004 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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Spanish and English-speaking cultures collide to poignant effect in this astute comedy drama from As Good as It Gets director James L Brooks. An engaging film that's anchored by strong performances, it sees Mexican single mother Flor (Paz Vega) become housekeeper to a rich but troubled LA couple (played by Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni). At first unable to communicate in English, she's thrown into an alien world, whose emotional mechanics she finds hard to understand. Initially, Leoni's shrill and highly-strung Deborah is as jarring to watch as she is for Flor to experience, which gives the picture a misleading sense of farce. Fortunately, the tale quickly finds its level, comfortably balancing wry laughs and uplifting sentiment. The contrast between Flor's pure heart and Deborah's unthinking bluntness is especially moving, highlighted perfectly by Flor's gentle interaction with her employers' daughter (a wonderful Sarah Steele). But it's Sandler's turn as the unhappy husband that's the real surprise, as he manages to be both effortlessly natural and quietly charming.
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Most helpful member's review
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69 out of 83 people found this review helpful
Light comedy with a twist away from convention
With Adam Sandler in the cast, you feel you know what to expect from this: a soft rom-com. What you find hidden within is something far more special. This film, quite unexpectedly, has thrown off the typical hollywood failings of too easy rises and falls in the plot. Instead, you find yourself pulled into a film with heart, characters you can care about, and a dedication to getting the emotional balance right.
This is a comic film make no mistake, in places it is wonderfully funny, but it isn't a full-on comedy like so much Sandler is involved in. Indeed, Sandler sidesteps much of the humour, taking on the perhaps the most emotive character in the film, and shows great skill in dragging us along with him. Perhaps his greatest performance to date, this is a great film, and with a fantastic supporting cast, this is well worth a look whether or not you are a Sandler fan. -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
It's a Gem
I didn't think I would like this as much as I did but the movie has a basic good story.
The story is basic but the characters are complex and full, that I found myself involved with and cared about them. Sandler was a pleasant surprise in a seemingly serious role of a father and husband trying to hold his family together, while his maid is doing the same with her family and boundaries of language is conquered. -
News and features
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New Spiderman villain revealed
- 07 Nov 2005
The new villain that will test Tobey Maguire's Spiderman in the third movie of Sam Raimi's franchise will be The Sandman. Thomas Haden Church, star of Spanglish and Sideways, will play The Sandman, who after being exposed to radiation takes on superhuman powers and the ability to transform himself into sand. This super-villain is bound to give audiences some excellent special effects to enjoy, as Spiderman will have to bash away at a cloud of sand. The third instalment of Spiderman will again... Read more
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