SUE’S REVIEWS: SPARE PARTS “Spare Parts” is a 115 minute PG-13 Rated Historical Drama directed by Sean McNamara starring George Lopez (Fredi Cameron), Alexa PenaVega (Karla) Marisa Tomei (Gwen), Jamie Lee Curtis (HS Principal), Aubrey K. Miller (Maddy) and Esai Morales (Mr. Santillan). This movie is based on an incredible true story which was reported by Joshua Davis in WIRED Magazine in 2005 entitled “La Vida Robot”. It is the tale of Mexican immigrants (3/4 were undocumented) who were attending Carl Hayden Community High School in Phoenix, AZ when they decided to form a robotics club. With only $800, no experience, and the help of the school’s newest teacher, they used mostly spare parts from cars (and other items including tampons for water absorption) to create a robot to compete in a NASA-sponsored underwater robotics contest. The 5th annual contest was held at The University of California, Santa Barbara and included an entry from MIT which was the reigning US champion. This fascinating story was recently the subject of a documentary film, “Underwater Dreams”, which aired on MSNBC in 2014. George Lopez said in an interview that the big- screen version, “Spare Parts”, stays as close as possible to the true story. Hollywood did take some liberties with the truth, however, including the “composite” character portrayed by Lopez which is a combination of two real teachers. The dialogue is overly- dramatic and mostly- fabricated as with historical dramas. But the best thing about this movie is the incredible, quintessential underdog story upon which it is based which demonstrates how anything is possible with ingenuity, perseverance and hard work. Although I love the story and would like to see the documentary, I have several problems with the big-screen movie version which I do not think is very good. The casting and acting are contrived and not believable. Jamie Lee Curtis is annoying as the school principal who seems giddy and silly in every scene. Oscar-winner (for “My Cousin Vinny” 1992) Marisa Tomei’s talent is completely wasted in the role of a teacher who constantly seems on the verge of tears. My main problem with “Spare Parts” is that Hollywood has taken an underdog- against-all-odds-success- story and turned it into a non-stop platform for: The Dream Act, the “value” of undocumented immigrants, the “evil” of ICE and the “cruelty” of deportation efforts while at the same time promoted the ways in which the law is evaded. The movie mocks global -warming deniers, depicts stereotypes of geeky college engineering students and makes condescending comments about the wealthy. The first 100 minutes tend to drag but the last 20 minutes are exciting as the movie shows a reenactment of the actual robotics contest and winners. The closing credits and epilogue are informative with photos of the real students and follow- up of their success. I give “Spare Parts” a 4.5 on the ABBONDANZOMETER (Scale of 1-10).
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 22:10:50 +0000
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