Spanglish and Closer -- Rhinotainment

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Date Posted: 11:12:41 12/18/04 Sat
Author: The Rhino
Subject: Spanglish and Closer

I saw Spanglish and Closer recently. I was disappointed in both.

Closer (starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen and Natalie "Soooo Hot" Portman) is a look at four completely unlikable characters who lie and cheat to each other on a regular basis. It's a look at jealousy and infidelity in relationships and it's ultimately a rather boring one. In the end I wondered why anyone would treat a loved one the way these imbeciles do and why I thought watching something like this would be a good way to spend matinee money.

Portman's character is the only likeable character throughout the movie but then you learn a secret about her, one in which she's been lying throughout the entire movie. Blah. Another thing that bugged me was the script. It seemed like the characters were always trying to trump the other characters in the Wit Department. "I'm more clever than you!" "No, no! I'm more clever than you!" The only thing clever about this film is that it convinced many critics that it's one of the best films of the year. That's just dead wrong. If you want to see devastating films about people treating each other badly then see Neil LaBute's films In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors and The Shapes of Things. Leave this one alone.

Spanglish I liked much better until the HORRIBLE ending. There are two storylines that intertwine throughout the movie. One is the storyline involving Paz Vega and her daughter moving from Mexico to the US, Vega becoming Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni's maid and Vega's quest to maintain her integrity and teach integrity to her daughter. The other story is of Sandler and Leoni's marriage and the shambles that it's in.

Leoni's character is probably one of the most heinous characters in recent memory. She's possibly the worst mother and spouse that one could imagine. The only way she could be worse is by teaching her children to shoot heroin. Sandler is the exact opposite. He's almost too good of a husband and father. His character is much like Vega's character. He wants to instill integrity in his children and doesn't want them to get too big for their britches, to coin a phrase.

If this sounds like a bit of a trite premise, well, it sort of is. But it's very entertaining. However, once the ending arrives, the film becomes an open wound. There is closure to Vega and her daughter's storyline but there is no closure to Sandler and Leoni's storyline. I'm not saying that there has to be closure to make a storlyine great. There are great films with wide open endings, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Limbo (a John Sayles movie with the epitome of open endings). But in this film, it was necessary to tie up their story and James L. Brooks didn't do it. It ruined the film for me.

Act as if Closer was never made. Rent Spanglish when it comes to video, just be cautious.

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Replies:

gimme the ending -- Hugh Jazz, 13:38:21 12/27/04 Mon
- Re: gimme the ending - Spoiler -- Rocket, 08:42:20 12/29/04 Wed
  - I agree about the daughter -- The Rhino, 18:16:53 12/29/04 Wed