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Review of Spanglish (Hans Zimmer)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you seek one of the best arrangements of Hans Zimmer's light drama touch and Heitor Pereira's Latin guitar performances laced with all the sensibilities of a Rachel Portman romance score.

Avoid it... if this dainty girlie nonsense has no place amongst your collection of Zimmer's kick-ass militaristic scores for full symphony, choir, and synthesizer.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Spanglish: (Hans Zimmer) As if almost on cue, James L. Brooks' 2004 progressively minded comedy/drama about interpersonal relationships arrived on the scene just in time to sweep away critics and audiences with its charm during the awards season. While perhaps no effort will eclipse the superbly acted As Good As It Gets in 1997, the oddly assembled cast of Spanglish did pretty well in its own part. Starring Adam Sandler in a substantially serious role, Spanglish portrays the story of a Mexican woman and her daughter who arrive in the employment of a wealthy Los Angeles family. Unlike the more deadly serious variations on that story in past films, Spanglish treats the Mexican woman as a sort angelic presence who helps, through the language barrier, to give sound advice to help with the eccentricities of the her American employers. While its plot does border on more serious topics such as adultery, for instance, the aim of the film is to win your heart in the end, and Spanglish did just that for many critics just prior to the 2004 awards nominations. It also packages what some might see as a liberal agenda in its feel-good story as well. The film marked the third entry in an affable collaboration between Brooks and composer Hans Zimmer, who was wrapping up a fantastic year of production. As in their previous work together, As Good As It Gets, Brooks manages to tempt the lighter, more romantic elements of Zimmer's sensibilities for these character dramas. The German born composer has had an interesting tendency to dabble occasionally in the areas of Spanish and other Hispanic music, often involving the traditional acoustic guitar performances of his friend and fellow composer Hietor Pereira. Their Hispanic style has seeped into several Zimmer scores through the years, most notably in It's Complicated still to come, though Spanglish was the first full-fledged opportunity to allow this sensibility to flow into a popular dramatic effort. The pretty and competent As Good As It Gets earned Zimmer an Academy Award nomination, and Spanglish received a Golden Globe nomination for similar reasons. It features an even greater sense of humor, as well as an infectious spirit of romantic comedy that voting bodies loved hearing from the likes of Rachel Portman and Italian composers who had dominated the awards scene in the previous ten years.

Being comprised of strings, woodwinds, and piano on top of the featured acoustic guitar, the score does in fact take on many of the simplistic, heart-warming characteristics of a Portman effort, especially in the clarinets of "The Beach." But Zimmer's flair for rhythmic flow is what distinguishes Spanglish as music distinctly rooted in his own spirit and energy. Created occasionally by percussion and the string section, Zimmer's rhythms are often maintained with great style by Pereira's guitar performances or other solo work by violin or cello. The composer manages to avoid the stereotypes that you often hear composers fall back into when writing a score such as this; all too often you end up with a score dripping with Mediterranean flavor when really none is called for. In a couple of places, that tone tugs at the soundscape, especially with the final progressions of the main theme. In his emphasized balance between Mexican and American styles, though, Zimmer takes a cue such as "Welcome to the Claskys" and creates an instrumental duel between the upscale strings of the orchestra (and one wild violin in particular that probably reflects Tea Leoni's manic performance) and the guitar representing the two primary Mexican characters. There is considerable give and take between the guitar and strings in later cues, such as at the start of "Cooking," and these moments of frantic rhythms, ambitious guitar, and frenetic strings are the highlights of the score. At all times, Zimmer maintains a positive thematic structure, making Spanglish a delightful listening experience from beginning to end. The final cue, "Bus Stop," features a dramatic climax to Zimmer's themes, with the full ensemble providing a beautiful tear-jerking performance of Flor's (the maid) theme before exiting. Overall, it's difficult to imagine that Spanglish will appeal to all of those who crank up the volume on Zimmer's militaristic scores and consider the new age action romp King Arthur to be the best achievement by the composer in 2004. Alternately, if you've always appreciated Zimmer's perky, lightweight music for projects like As Good As It Gets and Something's Gotta Give, then Spanglish will most definitely be a distinct and addictive score. Given the composer's pressures to achieve this score under extreme deadline stress (as Brooks retells with great humor when reflecting back on the recording process), you can't help but give Zimmer and his team kudos all around. A Gershwin song performed by characters in the film is the only blemish at the end of an otherwise consistent, enchanting little album.  ****

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 38:18

• 1. Spanglish (2:45) • 2. The Beach (9:46) • 3. Welcome to the Claskys (3:19) • 4. Drunk and Disorderly (2:14) • 5. John Comes Home (1:55) • 6. Learning English (1:32) • 7. No Left (3:54) • 8. Malibu (3:16) • 9. Cooking (1:24) • 10. Bus Stop (5:09) • 11. They Can't Take That Away From Me - performed by Cloris Leachman and Ian Hyland (3:00)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes an outstanding note from director James L. Brooks about spending time with Hans Zimmer during the recording process at deadline time.

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