Movies

Spanglish stars Adam Sandler as head of a functional household, though married to the only dysfunctional part of the family. His wife, Téa Leoni, is hot...errrr I mean she decides to hire a nanny/housekeeper for the family. The job goes to a Hispanic woman (Paz Vega) who speaks no English. Somehow, the plot develops from there.

Am I the only one who has Sandler so type-cast and pigeon-holed into his slapstick comedy roles that I have a hard time taking him seriously? Sure Punch Drunk Love offered him in a serious role, but he was able to play someone so quirky that his personality fit with the character. In Spanglish he is simply a great guy; a world class chef, patient husband, and an example-setting father. There have been moments in his comedy-ridden past where Sandler has shown a softer side, so it is not completely foreign to see it more prominently here.

The movie was good. I saw it with my sisters, brother, and BooBoo. From what I can gather, both of my sisters liked it a lot. I have no report from the other two.

Rumors have flown surrounding the idea of Oscar nominations for Adam Sandler's work in Spanglish. Sorry Adam, these rumors trouble me. The acting in this movie was all done by Vega and the girl who plays her daughter (Shelbie Bruce). If you can watch Spanglish and see John Clasky and not Billy Madison, Sandler did a good job in the role, but his character was support. He was not lead, so Best Actor he should not be. Does that mean you should not see this movie? No. It was a touching movie, once you get past the loathsome feeling toward Leoni's character.

Spanglish was not my first choice of movies to see last night. I was not very excited to see it at all actually, but I saw it none the less. It was better than I had expected, but I hadn't expected much.

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Sideways is the story of a man, Jack (Thomas Hayden Church), who embarks on a trip with his to be Best-man Miles (Paul Giamatti). For the week prior to the wedding, Miles takes Jack to California's Wine Country for some last minute reflection and a lot of good wine. Both men are getting older and appear not to have too much of a future, which would explain the situations in which we find both men. The conflict arises when Miles finds out that Jack's motivation for their wonderful week away is to sew his last wild oat or two.

Based upon the way I have written that first part, I guess it is slightly disheartening to tell you how well I identified with the character played by Giamatti. A man who takes his own interests very seriously and maybe once or twice shuns other people as a result.

The movie was very real. That, however led to things I both liked and disliked about the movie. I laughed practically throughout when I had not expected to laugh much at all. I really did not to know what to expect to be honest. The scripting seemed much more casual as if dialogue was live and not written.

What surprised me was some adult material. It really caught me off guard. It seemed out of place and may have detracted from my overall feeling of the movie. That feeling was a very positive one regardless.

I do not think Thomas Hayden Church could act his way out of a hole in the ground...whatever that means. I will not expect him to win any prestigious awards for his role. He was, however ironic this may seem, perfect to play Jack. He was just the right mix of annoying and chauvinist for the part.

Paul Giamatti is one of the actors that I will go out of my to see perform (with the exception of "that" movie about an obnoxious radio personality who's name I will not mention). In some of my aimless digging around I have seen one or two opinions that list Giamatti as a potential nominee for Best Actor for this film. I do hate to do this, but I will disagree. He was fantastic, my only concern is that "Miles" may have been too flat.

I have taken a few moments of reflection on the movie as I tried to piece together my review. Each time a different part of the movie flashes through my mind and I cannot help but smile. There were a couple of dead spots in the plot when it dragged some, but it was not enough to ultimately bother me.

It was a very good movie. I saw it. I enjoyed it very much, though I did not love it. I think a second time through my opinion of the film would only improve. I will buy this DVD. You should see it. I hope you like it, too.

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