Dana Verde: First off, I'd like to start this review by saying that I loved this movie. Considering how cold it is outside in New York, it was nice to see a warm and fuzzy movie. "Spanglish" is the story of a cross-cultural exchange between an Anglo-American family and their Mexican-immigrant nanny and her daughter. What I loved the most about this movie is that it shows how the stresses and worries that go along with parenting are universal. Adam Sandler was adorable. He's packed on some pounds since his last movie, which made him look like a stuffed teddy bear. But the look actually fit the part he was playing: a good-guy chef. Tea Leoni — my God! She made me want to go to the gym. She had abs of steel and did an excellent job as a neurotic woman going through an early midlife crisis. I especially loved Sarah Steele, who played their daughter in the film. She struggles with a weight problem, and, though her scenes are short, I felt for her. Then there was Paz Vega as the nanny, bringing intelligence and integrity to a role that usual doesn't get played that way. "Spanglish" has the right mixture of humor, drama and sentimentality. It's the kind of movie you take your mom to and appreciate all the little things she's done for you. It's a must-see!


Mello:
     Basic Plot Description
    A struggling single mom (Paz Vega) works hard for a good life after she and her daughter leave Mexico. This hard-working (and absurdly, ridiculously gorgeous) woman finds a job doing what, pray tell? That's right — she's a maid in a house full of crazy Wasps. Touching scenarios, with a lot of comedy woven through, ensue.

  • How Did The Trailer Portray This Movie? What Did You Expect?
    I was honestly expecting sappy to the next level. But while it had its touching life lessons, Sandler makes the film not only bearable but enjoyable for the male audience.

  • What Was The Most Realistic Scene In The Film?
    Anything having to do with Sandler's onscreen wife, Deborah Norwich Clasky (Tea Leoni). She is the pinnacle of the superficial Wasp woman. She constantly whines about her feelings while shooting off at the mouth a mile a minute with complete disregard for anyone else. She gets on her poor chubby daughter's case in the most painful, emotionally detached kind of way. On top of all that, she's just out of her mind.

  • Any hold your piss scenes? (Even if you have to go, you don't wanna miss this.)
    Any scene with Flor Moreno (Paz Vega) in it. The whole time me and my boy were watching this movie, we kept asking each other if that was Penelope Cruz or not, and we both kept saying, "Nah, she's too hot to be Penelope." Seriously, this woman is a blessing to any man with the gift of sight.

  • What Scene Hit Closest To Home?
    Sandler, playing the quintessentially caring, nice-guy dad, has a talk with Vega on the beach. She manages to catch the wind at the right angle, and Sandler finds himself staring at her mind-blowing body. So he yells at her, "Would you get out of the damn wind? Sit down!" just so that he can regain his composure.

  • Was there a love story? If so, was it realistic, far-fetched or a clichéd example of a movie romance?
    There was a love story, and they approached it fairly well. Throughout the entire film there is tension between Sandler and Vega. They make goo-goo eyes at each other and actually get to talk about it towards the end, but the way it was handled — I ain't giving this away — was very nice, not your regular movie blueprint for a love story.

  • Who do you bring to this movie?
    It's strictly girlfriend material. Sandler keeps the guys interested the whole time while the females can value the moral-values aspect of the film. You can bring honey-pie sweetie-cakes to the film and pass the quiz she'll give you on it when you guys bounce. Just hope she won't hit you with "You don't think that maid girl was prettier than I am, do you?" cuz the night's over at that point, my friend.


    Matt Singer:
    Nobody in modern American cinema loves a good cry as much as James L. Brooks. His latest, "Spanglish," starring Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni, mucks with the lives of a dysfunctional family and their Mexican housekeeper for two hours until almost nobody onscreen (and hopefully off) can contain their sadness. At this point the film nearly drowns in an ocean of its own tears, but, to my surprise, Brooks' witty, honest characters haunted me well after the movie was over.

    Sandler and Leoni play a married couple, John and Deb, and if the pair sound mismatched, then that's the point: Their lack of onscreen chemistry illustrates their characters' growing distance in the face of dual midlife crises. John's restaurant is becoming too successful, while Deb's recently been downsized. For easygoing John, it's too much pressure. For uptight Deb, it's too much time on her hands, which might be pushing her towards an affair. They try to ease the tension by hiring a housekeeper to help with the kids, but they end up with Spanish-speaking Flor (the casually gorgeous Paz Vega), and the culture and language barriers keep causing problems (Flor's attraction to nice-guy John doesn't help, either).

    With "Spanglish," Adam Sandler completes the transition from vicious oddball man-child to full-fledged leading man. He convincingly plays a father, a world-class chef and, most impressively, an emotionally complex human being sensitive enough to attract women like Leoni and Vega. It's been a long road to "Spanglish" for Sandler but less of a stretch than it may have seemed: His characters' emotions have always been raw, angry and, most importantly, right on the surface. He's always been in touch with his feelings — he's just expressing them more eloquently now.

    "Spanglish" may be more earnest than a Jim Varney movie, and ultimately it has so many characters to futz with that it becomes just as messy as John and Deb's marriage. But it works best when it stops trying to tax our nation's hankie supply and lightens up. Sandler's comedy is quieter than before, but also warmer, and he's well-supported by Cloris Leachman, hilarious as the family's resident drunkard and bearer of sage advice (example: "Lately, your low self-esteem is just good common sense"). An abrupt ending threw me for a loop, and I could have done without the last two dozen shots of Tea Leoni's face covered in tears and boogers, but I was still surprisingly charmed by this feel-good movie about a world where everybody's feeling bad.


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