RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Spanglish
Spanglish

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Spanglish (2004)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
52 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:157

Fresh:82

Rotten:75

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: Vega shines, but the heartwarming elements feel phony, as though they belonged in a sitcom, and there is a mean streak underneath it all.

Runtime: 2 hrs 11 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: With SPANGLISH, writer/director/producer James L. Brooks (AS GOOD AS IT GETS) unfurls yet another accomplished, tender, romantic comedy. Celebrated chef John Clasky (Adam Sandler) is the patriarch... With SPANGLISH, writer/director/producer James L. Brooks (AS GOOD AS IT GETS) unfurls yet another accomplished, tender, romantic comedy. Celebrated chef John Clasky (Adam Sandler) is the patriarch of the Clasky household, but the mood swings of his hypersensitive wife, Deborah (Tea Leoni), are what really runs the show. When the Claskys hire the beautiful Flor (Paz Vega) to be their maid, their already rocky relationship faces some even bigger boulders. Spanish-speaking Flor is a sincere, loving single mother whose daughter, Christina (Shelbie Bruce), receives lavish displays of affection from Deborah. Meanwhile, Deborah neglects her own son and daughter in much the same way that her self-absorbed, alcoholic mother, Evelyn (Cloris Leachman), neglected her. Eventually Deborah crosses a line when she betrays her husband with the real estate broker who is helping her search for a beach house. Faced with this challenge, John and Flor, who share a clear attraction to one another, get the chance to explore their feelings. Brooks populates his film with wholly believable characters. On first glance they may seem like broad caricatures (especially in the case of the roles played by Leoni and Leachman), but the characters subvert viewers' expectations by turning into full-fledged, three-dimensional humans by the end of the film. As in PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE, Sandler delivers a performance that shows his wide range of talent. [More]

Starring: Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, Tea Leoni, Cloris Leachman

Starring: Adam Sandler, Paz Vega, Tea Leoni, Cloris Leachman

Director: James L. Brooks

Director: James L. Brooks
Screenwriter: James L. Brooks
Producer: Richard Sakai, Joan Bradshaw, Julie Ansell, James L. Brooks
Composer: Hans Zimmer
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Spanglish Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for Spanglish

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

There's a distinct lack of chemistry here and a strong whiff of moral sermonizing that undermines the romantic impact.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/29/08
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A satisfying and grown-up flick that boasts all of James L. Brooks’ strengths.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is Hollywood liberal humanism as muted join-the-dots melodrama, all carefully calculated colouring, broad outlines, and no room for fruitful digression.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A wonderfully touching and brilliantly funny work that's as committed to its characters as it is to its audience.

Full Review Source: FilmFocus | comment Comment
02/27/05
Joe Utichi
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus

Sandler is excellent, delivering a heartfelt performance that is easily on a par with his work in Punch Drunk Love.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
02/26/05
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Brooks' championing of good old-fashioned family values feels hopelessly naïve and frankly unconvincing.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
02/22/05
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sandler's best-ever performance--the least self-conscious thing he's done

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/16/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment Comment
02/27/09
Devin Faraci
Devin Faraci
CHUD

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

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.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
11/01/07
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek

The film racks up points for stressing in eloquent ways the importance of one's own roots, even when dwarfed or demeaned by the lure of the dominant, more affluent culture.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
03/30/07
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

While the content isn't always pretty, the lessons are important. And, Brooks, thankfully, isn't afraid to face these themes, ugliness and all.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
10/11/06
Mary Lasse
Mary Lasse
Christianity Today
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
01/17/06
Sydney Morning Herald

Phony bourgeois film.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
11/12/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Vega radiates effortless strength and charm in her first Hollywood role, and Sandler proves to be a gratifyingly unpredictable leading man, self-effacing one moment and hilariously emphatic the other.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
Scott Tobias
Scott Tobias
AV Club

Much as Spanglish makes their mutual attraction look magically real and charming, the prospect of John and Flor's romance remains alarming, and not just for the questions it raises about sleeping with the help.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/29/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Some great lines, some great performances, some very very interesting relational topics, but un-quenching, seldom moving and simply not funny enough to be a comedy.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
04/18/05
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

A worthy follow-up to [Director James L.] Brooks’ 1997 success, As Good as it Gets.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
04/15/05
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

Brooks struggles to define Spanglish, garbling the storylines in an unfocused film that only skims the surface in its two hours plus running time.

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
04/13/05
Mark Pfeiffer
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >> >|
all

Latest News for Spanglish

March 22, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Six New Films Try to Shoot Down Spartans From #1 Spot
A half-dozen new soldiers enter the marketplace this weekend trying to topple the kingdom of "300" which has reigned supreme at the box office for the past two weeks. More...

November 09, 2006: Box Office Guru Preview: New Pics Challenge "Borat's" Mandate
This weekend, multiplexes hope to cram in lots of moviegoers thanks to a wide selection of new films. Six movies open or expand nationally on Friday making for what will be one... More...

June 22, 2006: Critical Consensus: "Click" Doesn't, Ahem, Click; "Waist" Isn't Deep Enough
This week at the movies, we've got a magical remote control ("Click") and a father who's trying to rescue his son ("Waist Deep"). Will the critics dig... More...

June 24, 2005: Have Some Early "Fun with Dick and Jane"
MovieFone brings us a 6-month-early sneak peek at the Jim Carrey ("The Mask") / Tea Leoni ("Spanglish") comedy "Fun with Dick and Jane." Directed... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
95% 95% Star Trek
67% 67% Bruno
47% 47% My Sister's Keeper
66% 66% Is Anybody There?
82% 82% Thirst

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
68
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
63
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
  • Rachel McAdams Debunks Spider-Man 4 Rumor Source: Entertainment Weekly
117
  • Avatar: Gambling on Film's Future Source: Los Angeles Times
128
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
127
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
96
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
67
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
46
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
34
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
28
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
41
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Spanglish at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Spanglish at IGN
  • Spanglish at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.