Ìý Spanglish is perhaps best described as a noble failure for the talented writer/director James L Brooks. It’s a "messily told" comedy drama starring Adam Sandler as a dissatisfied man who begins falling for his Mexican housekeeper (played by newcomer Paz Vega). It received a very mixed critical response and, while Sandler put a few bums on seats, moviegoers were largely nonplussed.
Lost In Translation
With over 30 minutes of additional scenes, it becomes readily apparent what a nightmare this film was to edit. In fact, in an optional commentary, Brooks reveals that he spent "five war-torn months" in the cutting room. As you’d expect, there’s a lot of great stuff here that showcases his ability to find humour in the most unlikely and depressing circumstances. They include an extended version of the (hilarious) Téa Leoni interviewing Vega with the assurance that, "I’m very loose. And meticulous!" There’s also more back-story for Vega’s housemaid.
In HBO’s First Look, Leoni colourfully explains the appeal of Brooks, saying, "He’s able to pierce human truth and make it ooze for you." Sandler is a little less graphic but just as happy to be involved in the project. Apparently he was cast after bumping into Brooks on the street while the writer/director was chewing over a difficult scene. Brooks himself explains that he just "wanted his quality". As well as interviews with cast and crew, there are snippets of behind-the-scenes footage and the usual breakdown of story and characters.
You can see that Adam Sandler "quality" in its raw form in the Casting Sessions featurette where Paz Vega auditions opposite the star. After seeing this, it becomes very obvious why Vega was cast - despite the grainy video, her emotions are plainly written on her face. That was all-important because - as Brooks recalls in his optional commentary - she didn’t speak a word of English.
Say What?
In the main commentary, Brooks adds, "My worst nightmare would be to have had subtitles." He’s very clear about wanting to convey the sense of disorientation created by the language barrier and, besides that, talks further about the subtext and themes of the story. With regards to Leoni’s role as the neurotic wife, he explains his theory that, "There’s a myth that you can be the perfect career woman and the perfect mom at the same time." Hence, Leoni’s constant flustering and overriding guilt complex. Editors Richard Marks and Tia Nolan are also on hand to talk about the mammoth task of streamlining the movie - oh, and Tia throws in a great recipe for French Toast!
Since Sandler was called on to portray one of America’s greatest chefs, he sought advice from top gastronome Thomas Keller. In a novelty featurette you can watch Keller advising him on how to make The World's Greatest Sandwich (for a scene where Vega interrupts Sandler as he’s preparing a late night snack). However, if you’d rather know the recipe to writing an interesting but flawed Hollywood movie, you can access the full script for Spanglish via DVD-ROM.
This menu of extras proves that somewhere among the jumble of deleted footage and theatrical cut, there is a great movie struggling to get out. Brooks comes across as a scrupled storyteller, which makes for an engaging analysis of the film. In fact it’s an intriguing look inside the mind of a comedy filmmaker whose first thought is always for the character, not the joke. Muy bueno.
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