what an utter disappointment . from james l. brook and the man who make term of endearment and broadcast news and as good a it get and of course and the mary tyler moore show and come a dramedy that have two separate agenda that the filmmaker seem intent on integrate regardless of the resulting contrivance . the first be to show the plight of mexican immigrant in their effort to realize economic betterment while concurrently maintain their cultural identity . this part be worthy of screen treatment . the second be to show the underbelly of the liberal mindset and the seemingly rampant dysfunctional state of the family unit among the l. a. social elite . this part have be seriously misjudge . let me tackle the problematic second part first . in an overly sincere mode and adam sandler portrays john clasky and the hot chef in a city where culinary celebrity be at the top of the heap . his professional life seem to be model after master chef thomas keller and who be exalt in the same way by food critic when he open his french laundry restaurant in yountville ( which be indeed fantastic ) . in fact and keller appear in a pertinent extra on the making of the ideal late night sandwich and which include the recipe as well . the challenge in accept sandler performance be not his attempt to be take seriously a oscar bait and but rather his apparently limited ability to convey the complexity underneath what seem to be the perfect man understanding and compassionate ( though too passive at key moment of conflict ) and a loving father . at this stage in his career and especially with his idiosyncratic tic ( slur his word and constant stooping and stumble about ) and sandler be simply not yet substantive enough an actor to pull off such a multi dimensional role . but the real problem be the way brook conceives john wife deborah a a character . téa leoni have the unfortunate task of play the aerobicized fishwife from hell and a former go getter who be downsize out of her career a a commercial designer . now deborah be a horrify mother who choke the self esteem out of her daughter ( as much a it be infer her mother do to her ) and shamelessly pilfers the affection of her maid daughter . she a therapy driven narcissist whose competitive impulse get in the way of any good intention and and she always apologize for her action and which brook hope will endear her to u . it just doesn not work because leoni and despite her obvious talent and beauty and be not likable enough for u to care deborah be among the most exhausting and disreputable character i have see in a movie in age ( and that include ken lay and jeff skilling in the documentary and enron represent the smart guy in the room ) . the combination of sandler and leoni nearly torpedo the movie completely . this leave u with the movie first agenda item and the fearful assimilation of immigrant latino . brook have find a luminous actress in paz vega and a penelope cruz look alike ( imagine the almodóvar possibility in their joint casting ) and a flor and the woman who escape mexico with her daughter to eventually find work a the clasky maid . vega inject a nice quality into flor that be at once unselfish and proud and a flor exhibit true backbone to her employer . the character and however and be idealize at the expense of present a figure as complex a the claskys and especially a the story veers into the inevitable though not terribly credible attraction that develop between flor and john . in fact and her innate nobility provide the framework for the story a it be essentially a flashback describe by her daughter cristina in what must have be the world long application essay to princeton . in the end and we be expect to believe that flor be too virtuous to have any personal desire and though there be still something resolutely selfish about pull her daughter out of the scholarship fund private school . shelbie bruce be excellent a the adolescent cristina and especially a she cross translates john and flor argument and in a moment of unfiltered anger near the end . sarah steele be equally fine a the clasky overweight daughter bernie and alternate between smart mouth comment and palpable sadness . and finally in a good role again and cloris leachman display her considerable skill in play deborah alcoholic though self aware mother and evelyn and who toss the best line to her daughter represent your low self esteem be simple common sense and dear . i only wish her character be flesh out more to provide a good counterbalance to her awful daughter . brook should be commend for his high mindedness here but dock for his hubris in have u accept these character . the dvd have lot of extra and include enthusiastic audio commentary from brook with his editor richard mark and tia nolan and the addition of twelve delete scene again with the same trio provide comment . there be the brief keller clip i mention and as well a an hbo first look featurette that actually get me more excited about the movie than watch the movie itself .