Spanglish

For an astute comic appreciation of the culture clashes among the Los Angeles minions, almost any movie would be better than this misguided effort from the usually dependable James L. Brooks. This time out, the acclaimed writer-director of As Good as It Gets, Broadcast News, and Terms of Endearment loses his way and can’t see the forest of L.A. through the individual trees of his characters – each of whom stops making sense early in the game. Additionally, the film’s cryptic characters, mundane visual look, and minimal drama make the two-hour-plus running length of Spanglish seem positively brutal. It’s unclear what Brooks is trying to say about our melting-pot culture, if anything. So much attention is put into scapegoating the lady of the house (Leoni) that it’s hard to believe that Brooks is the same man who coaxed award-winning performances from a host of TV and film actresses.