Speaking Spanglish

Movie & Theology went great! In all there were 4 couples (many sent their regrets) who watched the movie, SPANGLISH, and stayed around to talk about it. The conversation was enlightening.

What sets Spanglish apart from a typical romantic comedy is that it has depth, it is not afraid to enter right into the tension of real life temptation, but at the same time does not just wimp out and give into that temptation.

Debra (Tia Leoni) plays the wife and John (Adam Sandler) plays the husband. She is a supercharged woman, fully self-obsessed with appearance and health, wondering why no one is "on the same page" as she is. She symbolizes the kind of person you turn into if you let yourself get poisoned by the American Dream. Her existence is a miserable narcissism that demands all of the attention and at the same time feels non-existant.

Although Pat R. is likely to disagree with this (which is perfectly fine), but I think that best scene in the movie depicting how narcissism is pervasive is the scene when John was awared 4 stars for his restaurant and Debra (his wife) comes home to reward him with some hot sex. However, the sex very quickly turns from a praise for his accomplishment to her own gratification, then her own sadness. She bascially forgets John is there and as she falls over on the bed she asks in desperation, "What am I going to do about me?" Some prize for John.

Flor, Debra and John's house keeper (who initially speaks only Spanish), is a beautiful Mexican woman who has an early teenage daughter, Cristina, who Flor fears will be contaiminated by American culture - Debra is her worst nightmare.

When Debra has an affair, John is tempted to have an affair with Flor. They find a way to "keep it real" and ultimately Flor quits in order to provide a clear boundary - marital, cultural and otherwise.

Flor's daughter, Cristina, is furious because she has had a taste of the American gratification, and now is being stripped of it all. Although tempted to give in to Cristina's pleas and accusations, Flor knows what is best for her daughter.

I think that the best line in the movie occurs when Cristina tells her mother that she needs some space and her mother says sternly, "There is no space between us!" I saw Flor as a symbol of God's love. God will give us what is best for us whether we like it or not. He will also not abandon us when we protest. God looks at us and says, "There is no space between us!"

Everyone in our group enjoyed the movies, but the conversation was even better, and infact, lasted longer than the movie did.

Also what I like about this gathering was that it was church. I mean church as it refers to a groups of God-loving friends applying the principles of God's love to real time culture and learning from it. Yes, that's church. It doesn't replace reading the Bible. It doesn't mean prayer is no longer necessary. What it does mean is that church is not merely what occurs in a building. Please, let's get the church outside the building.

I think that this is going to be a good thing. We'll probably have another one in a few weeks.