Spanglish MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 Content: -2

A clash of cultures poor Hispanic single mom Flor (Paz Vega) against affluent Anglos, John and Deborah Claskey (Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni) frames this romantic comedy. Flor and her daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) have crossed the Mexican border in search of a better life. Deborah is a housewife too obsessed with having the perfect body and life to attend to her imperfect family. Johns career as an award-winning chef demands most of his time. Flor answers Deborahs ad for a housekeeper, and the Claskeys later invite the beautiful hard worker and Cristina to join them at their beach house for the summer. Deborah sees Cristina as everything her own overweight, homely daughter (Sarah Steele) is not, and John cant help but compare Flor and Deborah. Spanglish explores family relationships in sometimes comical and sometimes touching situations.

The rocky relationship between caring, emotional John and his cold, self-absorbed wife includes examples of confession and repentance. After Deborah has an extramarital affair, she asks John for forgiveness. Deborah deliberately buys Bernies clothes too small as an incentive for her to lose weight. Flor, appalled at the cruelty, secretly alters the clothes to fit the plump adolescent. Deborah wins Cristinas affection by showering her with attention she never gives to her own daughter. John cant please his wife, so he turns to Flor, whom he greatly admires for her wisdom and understanding. Flors loyalty to the Claskey family prevents her from becoming involved with John. One gratuitous, prolonged sex scene between John and Deborah has graphic motions without nudity. That plus a few obscenities and profanities earn a negative acceptability rating from Preview for this otherwise meaningful and entertaining movie for teens and adults.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Columbia