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Spanglish
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment


6.7

based on 37 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 53 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some sexual content and brief language

Starring Adam Sandler, Téa Leoni, Paz Vega, Cloris Leachman, Aimee Garcia, Matt Battaglia, and Sean Smith

A look at cultures colliding, as a beautiful native Mexican woman (Vega) becomes the housekeeper for an affluent Los Angeles family (Sandler, Leoni). Of all the horrifying pitfalls she worried about in this new culture, she never fathomed the peril of being truly embraced by an upscale American family. (Sony)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Romance
WRITTEN BY:	James L. Brooks
DIRECTED BY:	James L. Brooks
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: April 5, 2005 Theatrical: December 17, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	131 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

A rich blend of humor and heartbreak.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

A pepperpot bubbling with pungent insights and sharp wit, Spanglish is about how people, like cultures, are more alike than not.

USA Today Mike Clark

The one movie families search for every Christmas for an outing, the way "Something's Gotta Give" was last year and "Jerry Maguire" was in 1996.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

What he's (Brooks) come up with is one of the most humane works ever made about the lives of working mothers.

Empire Ian Freer

A satisfying and grown-up flick that boasts all of James L. Brooks' strengths. It's good to welcome back a unique, low-key voice.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Above all, the movie's funny and wicked fun.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Brooks is solidly in charge of this feel-good fairy tale as he gets terrific performances from everyone including two super-talented child actors.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

trong on characters and relationships, but weak on some of the details that would elevate it from merely "good" to "great."

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie is not quite the sitcom the setup seems to suggest; there are some character quirks that make it intriguing.

Premiere Peter Debruge

Doesn't always work -- like its title, the movie straddles two separate worlds, landing squarely in the dreaded realm of "dramedy" -- but it's a noble effort.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Though Brooks has a broad, crowd-pleasing sensibility, he knows how to appeal to the masses without insulting anyone's intelligence, and that's a rare gift these days.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Much of it is funny and endearing, and its toned-down star, Adam Sandler, is as winning as he's ever been.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

An unusually shallow and facile work for Brooks, but the writing and the performances - other than Leoni's - keep us at least halfway involved.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The message in Spanglish is thoughtful and astute; it's the delivery that could use some work.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

There's a wonderfully subversive film buried somewhere in Spanglish, but it's never allowed to get out.

TV Guide Angel Cohn

Surprisingly heartfelt tale.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Frustrating though it can be, Spanglish still proves to be as resilient as its characters.

Newsweek David Ansen

Spanglish feels hemmed in, visually monotonous. There are signs that a lot has been cut, and in trimming his film Brooks may have squeezed too tight: his movie needs breathing space.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Ultimately more exasperating than rewarding.

Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt

Only resonates when he (Brooks) strips it all away and focuses on parent and child.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Whatever message Brooks was trying to put across with Spanglish, it clearly got lost in translaaaaaaaaaaation.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Brooks has an uncanny talent for making us feel insightful.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

Leoni is a very attractive woman, and she should be credited for giving a brave performance, but her character starts to produce involuntary shudders when she appears onscreen.

Portland Oregonian Barry Johnson

Could have had charm if the characters had been more recognizable as human beings.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

I've enjoyed Ms. Leoni's comic gifts in the past, and I'll enjoy them again, but Spanglish asks her to play crazed, and she delivers with a performance of unremitting, crazymaking shrillness.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Mr. Sandler has a solid, fumbling likability, without which Spanglish would be not merely annoying but despicable in its slick complacency.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Never quite works, despite the wonderful performances or the decency in the screenplay's margins.

Village Voice Amy Taubin

The beauty of Sandler's performance -- a superbly modulated suite of crestfallen groans and grimaces -- is he often seems to be reacting not just to his crazy wife but also to the dismal movie he's stuck in.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

Variety Todd McCarthy

Short on real drama and incident and long on tedium.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

As a romance, Spanglish is like a wholesome flirt who drags things out and becomes a tiresome tease. As a satire of upper-middle-class Los Angeles, it's a disaster.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

It's unclear what Brooks is trying to say about our melting-pot culture, if anything.

The New Yorker David Denby

Spanglish chokes on an excess of sincerity and guilt, and, in retrospect, its failure may turn out to be momentous for a sincere and guilty community--Hollywood liberals in a state of post-election dismay.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

So rancid is Brooks's fury that it's clouded his judgment, so that each of his main characters is a stereotype of the most broad-brush, malodorous nature.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

The pacing is off, the emotional tone is wobbly, and none of the actors seem to be acting in the same style or the same movie.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

This is a deeply unpleasant movie masquerading as a heartfelt social commentary on life in these United States.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Spanglish is Brooks' unqualified kitchen disaster - a desperate, shapeless, overreaching big-screen sitcom of a movie that just wants to be loved. Is that so wrong? In a word, yes.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.7 (out of 10) based on 53 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Rachel C gave it a0:
The worst movie I've seen in years. Misogynistic crap: i.e. we are meant to laugh at a woman because she makes faces while having an orgasm, wants sex, and is bored since losing her job. And the contrast made with the supportive, maternal, sensual, and 'salt-of-the-earth' Latina maid is just a counterpoint of stereotypes (racial, gender, and class). Most of all though the film is all about support for Sandler (your hardworking everyman with a dream) and mean brutal hatred for his one-dimensional wife (Leoni). Invidious and evil stuff.

Tony B. gave it an8:
i was surprised that i enjoyed this so much. when i first started watching this movie i thought it was very bad until it got into it, it acctually blossomed into an exceptional film. i didnt see anything particualrly bad with this movie and i would recommend it for a viewing.

Ara H. gave it a9:
I don't know why so many critics panned the film. I suppose if hypersensitive far left liberals may be offended by some character depictions or question the motives of the director. But I do believe that fair-minded intellectuals will appreciate the superb performances and the comedic tragedy of the film.

Jim G. gave it a2:
With such poor direction it is hard to tell if the actors are that bad or just lazy/demotivated. Predicatable plot, cliche ridden, schmaltzy - read a book instead.

Gerald gave it a10:
Loved it!

Tanya gave it a10:
I really liked this movie. Mainly because I am Mexican-American and can relate to a lot of it. The spanish didn't pose a problem for me because duh! I understand it. I really would recommend this movie. It was awesome. ^.^

Guillermo S. gave it a10:
Just because Christina is really fine but the movie was ok but damn she's fine thats why i gave it a 10.

Spanglish Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment

Spanglish
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment