Simon-109

The critics are ripping this one apart but not many have seen more that what those of us who tuned in last night, saw. I like it and enjoyed it.

I like daring shows and I can't think of not too many things more daring than singing along Elvis, Jagger and Blondie in national television. The acting is pretty decent and the show is tremendously entertaining.

The questions would be, how long can't Viva Laughlin! maintain the entertaining factor? How many good songs that are familiar to their target audience can they find to shoehorn into the script? That is not an easy task.

I am not sure of the answers, but what I know is that I am tuning again next Sunday and that I am recommending the show.

This is a good movie by any standard, and under the same criteria, not a excellent one. The movie is saved by its great musical numbers but the story drags and revolves around the same conflicts and troubles leading to a fast ending that does little to resolve much of content in the extraordinary build up.

The public did applaud and I had to make an effort not to, specially after one gut wrenching performance by Jennifer Huston, who owned this movie right and left. It wouldn't had feel too honest.

It was good to see Eddie Murphy back in which would be another of the redeeming factors of Dreamgirls.

Dreamgirls is a good movie but is no Chicago.

Technically this was a soap opera, a latin soap opera. If all soap operas were made the way Cambalacho was made, they would probably have to give an Academy award for best soap opera. That is how good and different this show was. Fernanda Montenegro gave an incredible performance, and the rest of the cast was just perfect. During a few months while attending college this guys made my laugh my butt off every weekday at 1 pm. No matter how tough school got I always had my Cambalacho hour. I still miss them.

Too bad that after all these years, the rest of Latin America hasn't got a page from the Brazilian manual on how to make TV.