Spanglish (DVD)

In my opinion Spanglish is one of the most underrated films of 2004, even though it was continually being thrust in the eyes of Academy members in Sony's 2005 Oscar Awards "For Your Consideration" push it was overshadowed by films such as Sideways, of which I believe Spanglish is a far better film than the Oscar-winner thanks to terrific performances and a well-written script.

James L. Brooks is no stranger to great films as he won the Oscar for Best Director with Terms of Endearment and was also the director on the Oscar-winning film As Good As It Gets, both films he wrote as well as directed as he does here with Spanglish.

This film tells the story of Flor (Paz Vega), a single mother, and her daughter as they have made their way into Los Angeles from Mexico. Ultimately, Flor finds herself under the employ of the Clasky family as their housekeeper. The Clasky's is a family that covers the spectrum of emotions from John Clasky (Sandler) the devoted father, Deborah Clasky (Leoni) the neurotic mother, the alcoholic grandmother played by Cloris Leachman and the two children who are as cute as can be. Flor must find a way to settle into the American lifestyle and settle into her new job with the Claskys as it truly becomes more than just a job as time goes on.

Spanglish is a wild ride of emotional ups and downs, which varies from the dramatic to the downright humorous, but every step of the way it is enjoyable thanks to Brooks' screenplay and the performances turned in by the actors, most notably Téa Leoni as she manages to astonish with a role that any actor would find nearly impossible. Not necessarily known for her acting chops, Téa is forced to stretch her acting abilities to the limit as the character of Deborah is just about the largest emotional mess you will ever run across, yet Leoni pulls it off with such grace her acting is not even noticeable.

As for the DVD itself along with the feature film you get a filmmakers commentary featuring James Brooks and editors, Richard Marks and Tia Nolan, deleted and extended scenes with optional commentary, an HBO behind-the-scenes featurette, a recipe feature teaching you how to make the midnight sandwich Sandler's character makes in the movie and a look at the screenplay via your computer's DVD-ROM drive.

Of these features the best has to be the feature-length commentary coupled with the deleted and extended scenes. It is not often I am a fan of deleted scenes, but if you have already seen this film be sure to watch the deleted scenes before watching the film as they will give you a whole new perspective on certain scenes that you otherwise would never have had. Brooks and his editors also mention the deleted segments throughout their commentary and after seeing the additional footage and hearing their comments you get a good look into the real making of this film that you won't get from any simple featurette.

Overall, this DVD is a must own as it contains everything a good story should, by allowing the audience to connect with some characters that you will most likely never have the opportunity to meet.