Spanglish

I recently saw the movie Spanglish. Going into it, I had really no idea what to expect... I vaguely remember seeing trailers for the film when it originally came out, but really (based on those) did not have a strong desire to see it. But I am so glad I did and did not have a preconceived notion of what to expect.

This is definitely one of those movies that the marketing division really didn't know how to market. Based on some reviews I read post-watching, people didn't know what this movie was all about. Some thought it was merely a "comedy" or a "romantic comedy" and felt somewhat disappointed. Others thought it was a movie about immigrating to the US and its challenges. While it is true that the movie did contain all of these elements, the big picture was actually a bit, uh, bigger.

Spanglish is a movie about parenting, about family, and about personal priorities. Plain and simple. Of course you can't really market a movie today saying, "this movie will show you what it means to be a good parent," which is rather unfortunate because those are surely needed.

If you haven't seen it yet, you should check it out.