Spanglish
*** out of 5
DVD released in 2005
Length of movie - approx 131 minutes
How long did the movie seem to take? - approx 115 minutes
Extra features on DVD - Don't know...just watched the movie.

I stand in awe of James L. Brooks. He has again crafted a wonderful story out of a pig's ear, pardon my bad metaphor. Take these elements...Adam Sandler, three child actors, Cloris Leachman, and a title like Spanglish...and tell me the words insipid, vapid, waste of time or mind-numbing don't come to mind. Mr. Brooks, however, has snatched Harry Met Sally from the jaws of Big Daddy. He avoided the easy cliches and tired devices to make a funny, touching, entirely enjoyable story.

Ignore the first scene, apparently, Brooks couldn't avoid all of the tired devices. Tea Leoni is the star of this show. Her overly competitive, spastic, neurotic character steals the show. I can't, for the life of me, remember her in any other role, but her name sure rings a bell. I'll certainly remember her after this. Sandler didn't ruin the show, he was atypically serious throughout. Paz Vega is great eye candy. Cloris Leachman is her usual delightful character actor. The child actors will appear again, I'm sure, but this isn't a movie to remember them by.

Brooks takes this movie to the brink of the saccharine abyss several times. Each time, he saves us from this punishment with a new surprise. This is a great date movie. It loses a couple of stars because it's not exactly high theater. But if you're looking for some light entertainment that doesn't require much of your brain...this is it.