Cady's Take:

Spanglish tells the story of a Mexican single mother named Flor (new-comer Paz Vega) as she journeys to America with her young daughter, Cristina. Flor gets a job as a housekeeper for the family of John and Deborah Clasky (Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni). Even though the illegal immigrant speaks not a word of English she is hired on the spot to take care of the family's Bel-Air home and two young children.

Deb is a neurotic unstable mess. She is a newly unemployed, reluctant stay-at-home mom who is suffering from an early midlife crisis. John, who is considered one of the best chefs in the country, is patient and kind, but near the end of his rope with his wife.

Sandler is able to deliver a message about the beautiful insanity of parenthood with sincere sweetness, and ironically, this crazy, foolish and normally juvenile comedian comes across as the story's most mature character.

Oh, and I cannot leave out Cloris Leachman who played Deborah's mother, she is hilarious in so many of her scenes. Her character, who drinks all day but carefully disguises her inebriation, is easily the film's biggest asset. Even half in the bag, she provides a quivering voice of reason.

"Spanglish" was nothing like I had imagined it would be, and it was so much more. Sometimes a narrated movie feels contrived, but at almost 2 ½ hours, Spanglish needed the device to keep the story moving. There is a lot going on here, with many different storylines. John and Deborah Clasky (Sandler and Leoni) are polar opposites: he's a laid-back dad (but also a chef, and I've never known any laid-back chefs) and she's a recently unemployed executive who is educated but insensitive, funny but completely crazy, too. They hire Flor (Paz Vega) as their housekeeper, and the rest of the movie is the interaction between Flor, her daughter Cristina, the narrator (played by Shelbie Bruce), and the Cluskys. This includes their daughter Bernice (Sarah Steele) and Deborah's mother Evelyn played by Cloris Leachman.

There is a lot going on in "Spanglish" - an unhappy marriage, a dysfunctional family, the relationship between Flor and her daughter, and of course the undercurrent of attraction between John Clusky and Flor. She is kind, beautiful, sweet and she doesn't do all the insane things his wife is always doing. This movie runs a little long but the narration holds it together; it is told as a college entrance essay about the most important person you know, and Cristina's story is about her mother and the choices that she made for her.

This movie is about a lot of things, but I think it works. It's loud and noisy and confusing but somehow that makes it more real. Life is never about just one or two things, why should a movie have to be?