SPANGLISH

Ay yi yi. Like we need another poorly conceived and executed film about an impoverished but ennobled ethnic person who intersects with petty wealthy white people and helps enlarge their hearts. Paz Vega is the Mexican housekeeper hired by the Claskys, headed by a shlubby middle-aged dad (Adam Sandler) and his shrieking bitch of a wife (Téa Leoni, hitting every wrong note -- any scene without her in it is a relief). You could write the plot -- virtually foretold in a pointless prologue voiceover -- on the head of a pin, yet the film feels interminably long. Writer/director James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets) probably wants to make a statement about how people don't communicate, but literalizing such concerns here simply makes audiences suffer. All the dead air leaves time to contemplate how dependent Spanglish is on stereotypes, and how a film purporting to be inspirational is at its heart offensive. Starts Fri., Dec. 17.