Talk about a shocker! Due to the fact that the first trailer I saw for Spanglish was in ill contrived and poorly edited piece of crap I expected the movie to be the same meaningless blather that never really managed to shut up and figure out just what it was trying to do, fortunately Spanglish is none of those things.

This is one of the most complex screenplays to come around in a long time that manages to deliver so many different messages at once, all while staying true to its original intentions.

James L. Brooks, a man you may associate with co-creating "The Simpsons" or the Oscar-winning films As Good as It Gets and Terms of Endearment, brings you a film he wrote and also directed that has heart and soul, while maintaining the humor you would expect from his tales.

Described as a comedy/drama Spanglish is an emotional roller-coaster that is primarily set around the idea of how to raise children and be the best parent one can be. The story is centered around Flor (Vega), a native Mexican and mother of 12-year-old Cristina, as she tries her best to raise her child right now that they have just moved to America.

Her search for a decent paying job ends as she meets the Claskys (Leoni and Sandler), whom are in need of a housekeeper. Little did she know, she was walking into a highly volatile family with an extremely nice husband and a neurotic and overbearing wife. Nevertheless, she tries her best to make things work, but they never really do in movies, do they? That is until the very end, which you are going to just have to wait and see.

Newcomer to the American movie scene, Paz Vega, delivers an amazing performance. At first glance you might think you are seeing a Penelope Cruz double, but Cruz has nothing on Vega. While speaking in Spanish for the majority of the film Vega is still able to deliver emotion to American speaking audiences just through one glance.

But the kudos don't stop there as everyone in the cast acted to the fullest, Sandler was funny yet emotional, Leoni was out-and-out insane, Cloris Leachman was masterful and the children were spot on brilliant. Brooks cast a brilliant crew to bring this original story to life and while the film is highly emotional he knows just when to stick that one liner in to release the tension.

Spanglish is a surprise film for me as I went in thinking the worst, but now that it is over, I only want to see it again.