Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Aurora GivesForth Spoiler Alert!This movie attempts to dupe the audience into vilifying the wife and making the husband the complete victim, and sadly, it appears like it may do so to some.This is a movie that fails to explain the motivations of some of the characters or to give them much depth. I am particularly disappointed with the portrayal taken of the wife, Tea Leoni.This woman is a clearly strained, unhappy, and insecure person whose positive qualities are deliberately ignored in favor of focus upon some questionable behaviors that amount to mistakes many parents happen to make.Granted, she is unfair and unethical for cheating on her husband who clearly makes some effort to include her. He isn't the flawless nice guy that the director may have attempted to create. He is, also, easily seduced by another woman, the housekeeper, although he doesn't physically cheat. Rather than trying to help the wife with her episodes of stress and misery, he just dismisses her with counterproductive humor and an attempt to ignore her concerns. Even if her concerns aren't particularly valid, they should be confronted honestly, and the issues should be resolved for the sake of the family and the relationship that was building.The movie never reveals why the lady cheats, why she is frequently stressed or upset, or why her history with her husband placed them at a disconnect. Also, most films portray couples when they are happy and bonding in a carefree way, but it appears that when the film shows the sadness, anger, and stress that may overcome many women in a marriage, then the director and viewers attempt to vilify her as a flawed woman who "may lose her husband", "whose low self-esteem is good common sense," and who "will never find anyone as good." That's a ridiculous way of trying to address the problems that a character has. Again, people aren't always going to be 100 percent pleasant, so if they have issues with stress and crying episodes, they should probably work to resolve those without having their character attacked.Honestly, I have never seen a movie that tries to portray a woman's emotional issues in such a vilifying light. Usually, a human being with some emotional outbursts becomes a sympathetic character. This movie reveals how easily women are condemned for simply expressing unpleasant emotions and ever appearing like anything other than the perfectly functional wife.Granted, I am not suggesting that Leoni didn't portray a woman who was out of touch with the family. I agree that Leoni's character should have spent more time with her husband and family and tried to better connect with her daughter. However, it's, also, understandable that she was acting according to a particular parenting philosophy.I don't see a narcissistic, self-centered, horrible woman; I see a struggling, strained, often unpleasant, disconnected wife who needs to build some understanding with her husband and children. She might simply just be incompatible with her husband. Sometimes, people are incompatible, and it's no one's fault. I hate the fact that Debra, played by Leoni, was confronted by a mother who suggested that this was the best man that she would ever get and encouraged her to have low self-esteem. Low self-esteem won't help the lady reconnect with her husband and family. Clearly, this woman was struggling and, therefore, hired a housekeeper to help. She may have insulted her own daughter, meddled excessively with the housekeeper's child, and made some disrespectful decisions, but your average person makes just as many social gaffs. She was trying to help her kids in her own way; they had fairly comfortable lives and weren't physically or verbally abused, even if their mother managed to offend them. She was paying the housekeeper 650 a week just to clean, so if she made some mistakes, then we can forgive her for being a bit out of touch.Both women and men can have some weaknesses; that's the beautiful part of being human if you don't want a Stepford wife. The director may have tried to create a villain, but for those of us who aren't easily swept up by a few examples of questionable behavior and mistakes, we are left wanting to understand more about the motivations and deeper traits of the characters.

PatrickBatemanVP This movie was, is, and will forever be awful, truly and thoroughly awful. It did not start well from what I can recall (saw it in the cinemas upon initial release) and I would hazard a guess that it did not end well either.There was no interest generated in the opening of the film, which eventually led to my exiting of the cinema prior to the end of the film's running. Loss of 5 points (total = 5 so far).I cannot comment on plot because a) none was developed in the beginning of the film, and b) I left after the first thirty minutes or so. Loss of 2 points (total = 3 so far)The characters were wooden to say the least. Adam Sandler plays his goofy old self as per usual, but it is hardly what I call acting. Loss of 2 points (total = 1 so far).Hence my rating of 1/10. A pathetic film that should not be watched. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

vchimpanzee This is a wonderful and inspiring story about a family with flaws and two new members welcomed into that family.And of course it is the story of a Latina girl who has the chance to stand out among many equally qualified candidates for Princeton. Aimee Garcia does quite nicely narrating.Tea Leoni as Deborah is pretty but comes across as shallow, really trying to be nice but constantly messing up. It's a fine performance. One of the best scenes has her enthusiastically welcoming Cristina, the beautiful daughter she didn't know Flor had, because now she can have a perfect daughter too. Her own daughter is not physically attractive and is overweight but not unhealthy, and can never seem to please her. And yes, Bernice notices this.Paz Vega reminds me of Salma Hayek, at least in appearance. But both are quality actresses too. Flor is so pleasant and loving but she can get upset when the situation calls for it. And of course once the time comes, she is determined to learn English.Shelbie Bruce does a wonderful job. Her best scene is one where she must translate for her mother, but she does more than merely say the words. She effectively communicates her mother's emotions as well. It's like a scene from "Freaky Friday". And she has another standout moment where John is only kidding but she really seems upset about what he said.Sarah Steele is also likable as the not so perfect Bernice. There's nothing so wrong with her. She's just an ordinary girl, like most girls.Cloris Leachman does her usual wonderful job, especially later in the movie. She mostly just has funny lines which add a lot, but as Deborah's mother advising her daughter who is falling apart, she really stands out.Adam Sandler is the weak link here. That only means everyone in a major role is good, and he is just the least talented among them. He does a great job playing Adam Sandler, the one who is not a loser and is mostly nice. John is quite a likable character. And yet there's nothing really special. John has lessons to learn here but he's less flawed than his wife. And of course he has a difficult choice when he must decide career or family, and his family means everything.I did think Georgie wasn't used enough. That may be the only real weakness here.The ending leaves us wondering. That's all I will say.Is it a family-friendly film? Not quite, but older children should be fine with it. Even younger children might be able to handle the version I saw, which may have been cleaned up for TV.Regardless, it is a worthy effort.

mackjordan210 SpanglishAccording to Wikipedia, a survey of the reviews by Rotten Tomatoes, say "53% of critics gave Spanglish a positive review.[3] Its proponents claim it is a portrayal of the difficulty of family problems and self-identity. Negative reviews said it was "uneven", "awkward", and "mean-spirited".After I wright this I will look at those reviews to see what happens. Maybe it will confirm I know everything or nothing or somewhere in between. Please keep in mind one doesn't have to be a wordsmith to have something to say. That said I think this movie has the following going for it. Before we get into that though I just watched the trailer. One of the things that it had going against it (it lost money) was how it seems to have been marketed, but I think it is a good movie. Maybe If I actually do know something id will be a good source of cultural development one day. Kind of like the admiration towards Neil Armstrong or Niel Haggart for that matter. But anyway to me this movie portrays a cross section of society and touches on: Family values How to confront problems within the family dynamic Questions I think most parents ask of themselves That's all I can remember. I think its one of those worth watching again.Are awkward, uneven, and mean spirited feelings toward this movie correlated with beliefs that social inequality is inevitable?If it pleases and sparkles.