Taglines: A comedy with a language all its own.
In Spanglish, the beautifully observed comedy / drama from acclaimed James L. Brooks, Flor (Paz Vega), a beautiful, native Mexican woman becomes the housekeeper for the affluent, yet troubled, Clasky family. The result is a wittily perceptive collision of cultures and values, and a refreshingly honest look at such life-altering commitments as marriage, parenting and devotion to family.
When a Mexican mother and her daughter come to the United States, the mother, Flor Moreno, gets a job as a maid at the home of a successful chef John Clasky, his insecure wife Deborah, their two children, and Deborah’s mother. Despite Flor’s lack of an English language vocabulary, she tries the best she can to assist the Clasky family in more than just house cleaning matters.
However, when Flor is forced to live with the family over the summer, she has no choice but to bring her daughter, Christina along. Deborah, much to Flor’s disliking, treats Flor’s daughter much like her own and at the same time she hurts the feelings of her own daughter, Bernice, as well as Flor.
When John’s dreams begin to unravel, he begins to feel like his whole world is coming down around him, but with the love of his children and with the help of Flor, he finds himself trying to get through it all. Flor’s daughter Christina, through which this story is told in a college letter to Princeton University, serves as a translator for the beginning of the film, but after Flor breaks the communication bridge by learning to speak English, Christina must learn that things come and go in life, but family is the most important thing a person can have.
Spanglish is a 2004 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by James L. Brooks and starring Adam Sandler, Téa Leoni, Paz Vega, and Cloris Leachman. It was released in the United States on December 17, 2004 by Columbia Pictures. The film grossed $55 million worldwide on an $80 million production budget, and received mixed reviews from critics.
About the Story
John wants his marriage to work.
Flor wants her mothering to work.
Christina wants to feel the thrill of her abilities.
Deb wants to feel better about herself
and is getting scared that that’s impossible.
Bernice wants to save her optimism.
Evelyn wants to protect her grandkids and make up for past sins.
Georgie wants to do as he wishes.
The dog wants the ball endlessly.
— Notes from the scriptwriter to himself a few years back
In the literal sense, “Spanglish” is a hybrid of Spanish and English, a dialect spoken by nearly 40 million Latinos living in the United States. As used in the title of James L. Brooks’ latest comedy, it refers to the intermingling of these disparate cultures when they end up living together under one roof.
According to Brooks, “There’s so much that’s amazingly different between these two cultures and this movie has so much to do with where they meet, and where they can never meet. One of the places where they can meet, and where the characters of Flor and John find common ground, is in their approach toward raising their children. Each is comfortable with their children being preeminent in the living of their lives.”
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Spanglish (2004)
Directed by: James L. Brooks
Starring: Adam Sandler, Téa Leoni, Paz Vega, Cloris Leachman, Ian Hyland, Shelbie Bruce, Sarah Steele, Victoria Luna, Cecilia Suárez, Ricardo Molina, Brenda Canela
Screenplay by: Patrick Marber
Production Design by: Ida Random
Cinematography by: John Seale
Film Editing by: Richard Marks, Tia Nolan
Costume Design by: Shay Cunliffe, Louise Mingenbach
Set Decoration by: Leslie Pope
Art Direction by: Tom Reta
Music by: Hans Zimmer
MPAA Rating: PG-13 some sexual content and brief language.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: December 17, 2004
Visits: 102
