This is probably one of the more mismarketed movies simply for having Adam Sandler for top billing. While this does has its moments of laughter, this is more about a family heading into crisis more than it is anything really resembling a comedy.
Directed by James L. Brooks (as in one of the producers/minds behind The Simpsons), the story recounts the experiences of a Latino Princeton scholarship candidate through her submitted application, and her choice as her mother being her greatest influence in her life as one of the essay questions.
Florr (played by Paz Vega in her best- first?- English speaking role so far) is a cuckolded Latino single mother who makes her way across the Mexican Border with her six year old daughter, and tries to integrate into a Latin quarter of Downtown Los Angeles to make a new life for herself. Making ends meet is tougher than expected, and eventually Florr takes on the role of a housekeeper for a successful, affluent white family that's coming close to the boiling point of their lives.
Adam Sandler plays the role of John, a top chef whose success is sabotaging his happiness and whose home life is sliding downwards with his wife, while he remains a supportive and understanding father to his kids. Wife Deborah, whose nose dive of self esteem has turned her into a self absorbed control freak bordering on implosion, trying desperately to make herself feel better through backhanded acts of kindness towards everyone but her husband, mother and children.
Cloris Leachman (yes, that Cloris Leachman) plays Deborah's mother, almost a outside observer to the events and pending familial meltdown, and borderline alcoholic.
What's remarkable is the depth of the performances that all contribute to the film. Paz Vega offers a conflicted, put upon mother who wants the best for her daughter, but needs to establish her own success. Confronted with the possibilities that she could never provide, she's given hard choices to make for their future. Adam Sandler takes the performance he delivered in Punch Drunk Love light years further, showing a very conflicted, frustrated man that wants the best for his family but is finding that his success with his restaurant is costing him his own happiness in a most unusual way. Tea Leoni provides on of the best performance in the film, driving herself forward into the wilds of nowhere with wounded ego, lack of purpose and direction and a need to control everything around her in a need to feed her own self worth. Fine acting all around from everyone involved, and Adam Sandler when he's given some very serious and very grave moments, comes off amazing and very sincere in every nuance, word and action.
Spanglish defies any definite description, which makes this resonnate a lot longer than it should. It's not a story of an outsider teaching a family how to love, it's not a weepie/family tragedy film, it's not a feel good film either. It's a film that has moments of laughter, touching misguided love and wanting the best for the people around you, and all of it feeling very genuine and honest.
Highly recommended.