Review: Spanglish

How the mighty have fallen. James L. Brooks used to be one of the most reliable directors of character and performance in the business. His visual palette has always been lacking, but his sharp wit and concise pen have seen him through. Spanglish is his first big misstep (I think I'll Do Anything is quite underrated), a sloppy, near-disaster of a picture, in which confusion and tedium are present in nearly every frame. I'm not sure what Brooks was attempting to accomplish with this witless mish-mash of cultural signifiers and clashes, but practically none of it succeeds. Tea Leoni is a shambles, Cloris Leachman is a simpering mess, and the delightful Paz Vega (so wonderful in Sex & Lucia) is completely wasted. Only Adam Sandler comes through mostly unscathed. His natural, genial personality is perfect for this loving father of two. His scenes with his daughter are spot-on terrific and he has an instinctive ability to convey love and affection, mixed with conflict and despondency. I think there might have been a good film here at one point...but it got lost somewhere along the way.

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