Brooks is solidly in charge of this feel-good fairy tale as he gets terrific performances from everyone including two super-talented child actors.
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
trong on characters and relationships, but weak on some of the details that would elevate it from merely "good" to "great."
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Though Brooks has a broad, crowd-pleasing sensibility, he knows how to appeal to the masses without insulting anyone's intelligence, and that's a rare gift these days.
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Spanglish feels hemmed in, visually monotonous. There are signs that a lot has been cut, and in trimming his film Brooks may have squeezed too tight: his movie needs breathing space.
Short on real drama and incident and long on tedium.
40
Village VoiceDennis Lim
Village VoiceDennis Lim
The beauty of Sandler's performance -- a superbly modulated suite of crestfallen groans and grimaces -- is he often seems to be reacting not just to his crazy wife but also to the dismal movie he's stuck in.
Never quite works, despite the wonderful performances or the decency in the screenplay's margins.
25
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
This is a deeply unpleasant movie masquerading as a heartfelt social commentary on life in these United States.
20
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
Spanglish is Brooks' unqualified kitchen disaster - a desperate, shapeless, overreaching big-screen sitcom of a movie that just wants to be loved. Is that so wrong? In a word, yes.