Review

Review Date: 26-December-04
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Junk

Spanglish (2004)

There's a scene in "The Family Man" (2000) in which Nicolas Cage, having entered an alternate universe, inadvertently neglects to buy an anniversary present for his wife, played by Téa Leoni. As she jumps up and down on the bed in excitement over the special day, you feel awful for both of them but worse for him, since he has the misfortune to inflict pain on such a happy and loving person. Someone later says of Leoni's character, "Who wouldn't want to be married to her?", and even a heterosexual woman is bound to agree.

Cut to 2004, and the once charming Leoni is back in another gooey holiday movie called "Spanglish." Only this time she plays an atrocious she-ghoul from Hell. As Deborah Clasky, a rich and deeply neurotic LA housewife, Leoni makes you want to grab the nearest heavy object and cudgel her, or yourself, into a coma. From the second she appears in an eructation of narcissistic babble (which at the time looks like overacting but is soon revealed as part of a larger mess), you cannot help but think, Why should I care about this woman or anyone who would tolerate her?

Yet writer/director James L. Brooks expects the audience to do just that as he rambles through an uninspired story about the sanctity of parenthood. Lining up to endure Deborah's ranting are her live-in mother (Cloris Leachman), daughter (Sarah Steele), and husband John (Adam Sandler), a noted chef and colossal doormat. Continuing his effort to attract more mature roles as he faces 40, Sandler wears the hat of the "hero" of the family, but it's impossible for the title to stick to someone so weak and ineffectual. John is afraid of success (he swears only once, when a critic gives his restaurant a four-star rating), afraid of confronting his wife, and afraid of regarding their situation in any way resembling honesty.

But because life must teach us lessons (or because Leachman was hired to dispense the wisdom of the amusingly drunk and aged), the situation catches up with the family thanks to the influence of Flor (Paz Vega), a Mexican immigrant who reluctantly takes a job as a housemaid for the sake of her daughter (Shelbie Bruce). At first the language barrier prevents anyone from fully communicating with her, but her strong, vibrant presence eventually motivates the Claskys to bolder acts of passive-aggression, even while they inevitably drive her to distraction. "Spanglish" achieves a slight degree of appeal only when Vega is on the screen; her freckles are lovely, and Flor is the one character you don't consistently want to throttle.

The crux of this cross-cultural melodrama is that good people sacrifice all their own needs, even love, for their children. I have my doubts about this theory, which "Spanglish," so far from dispelling, actually supports. Watching John and Deborah flub their pathetic way through life, I had to wonder how resigned, dysfunctional, or antagonistic parents might serve kids better than hopeful ones who recognize their mistakes and try to get beyond them. Flor and John might be martyrs to their offspring, but it's a sad creed that needs such saints as this.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.