Spanglish (2004)

Southern Californian culture kind of grates on my nerves, so it was with humility that I watched this film. And the 'valley' mom did not disappoint, with her self-obsession and materialism. What was refreshing were the contrasts with the Mexicans and the New Yorker.

It was actually quite a compelling story for me, despite my expectation that the film was a complete chick flick (the first 15 minutes didn't have one man delivering a line, in fact there is only 1 male lead - the indomitable Adam Sandler - with only 4 other males delivering a handful of lines). I was worried this would be a Steel Magnolias deal. But it wasn't and Sandler took a prominent role in order to draw some truths out of the two female leads.

The writing was fabulous too, though some of the opening lines of scenes appeared very empty, just there to set up the scene, but not at all believable.

Perhaps one of the most romantic and tense date scenes in cinematic history occurs near the close of the film. The enjoyment of beauty and honesty coupled with responsible love is rare these days.

Truth: Children, as seen in Little Children, should be considered prior to committing acts of selfish passion. Identity is built by how much we honour our parents.

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