From Prada to Nada

Ostensibly a modern retelling of Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility", the sisters Nora Dominguez (Camilla Belle) and Mary Dominguez (Alex Vega) are now rich Latinas who grew up rich and ignorant of their culture. When they lose their father and their fortune, they are forced to live with their poor relatives in East L.A.

Jane Austen doesn't always translate completely to modern times. Marriage just doesn't have the same importance as in Jane's times. The culture has changed in 200 years. But if we take the story without the Austen expectations, it works relatively fine.

However not everything is as fine as others. Mary is a little too privileged and ignorant to be likable for my taste. Alex Vega is playing her too much like a stereotype. And the production value is a little bit limited. With good actors available, they needed a more experienced director. Angel Gracia could only give us a made-for-TV level of style. Overall this rom-com is much richer of a story than most. It is definitely better than most of Lifetime or Hallmark romance.

I have to admit I have a soft spot for Austen and the many, many (did I mention many?) adaptions. Yes I realize that most are less than stellar but there is something about a classic Austen love story that makes me smile. This is most assuredly a knockoff adaption of Sense and Sensibility, if you know the tale you will not be surprised where this story takes you. As far as adaptions go however, this is a very sweet, abet unoriginal version.

The "twist" to this Austen remake is that the cast is mainly Latino and is set in modern day east LA. I am not Hispanic so I cannot speak to the authenticness (and not stereotypical) of the Mexican/American culture but I enjoyed how they incorporated this aspect into the Austen storyline.

I did not expect much so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. There was a real sense of love and warmth between the family, more so than in many other portrayals. The writers managed to bring the adaption into the modern world and cast the characters well. With the title being what it is I was not expecting the level of acting to be high but I was surprised at how good they depicted their roles. Yes it isn't top notch acting but for the most part they all delivered a solid performance.

In short decent acting, good Austen plot, and warm loving characters made this worth watching at least once.

If I had one word to describe this movie, I would use the word 'awful' and as far as movies go that's a killer. I find it hard to believe that so many reviewers called this movie beautiful, it was nowhere close, a combination of a bad script and pretty awful acting, especially on the behalf of Alexa Vega the movie turned out to be quite a disappointment. Another thing is that the cover is misleading not that that makes a significant difference. Finding it hard to even fill in 10 lines about this awful movie with this kind of a plot where even the main actors has no morals it seemed, made the most absurd and unbelievable decisions and yet predictable. Worst part of it was the acting, all in all, don't watch it, its a waste of time and money.

I am no expert on this genre, but I'd have to say that "From Prada to Nada" is a notch above most of the romantic comedies that are out there This is a witty and realistic romantic comedy waiting for you. I was glad I had a chance to see this film earlier because I'm certain there will be a lot of "naysayers" out there that will dissuade others from seeing it, but to me, this seems like a perfect film for discussion with a circle of good friends.

Unlike other films coming from the genre, this film not only has witty dialog and cleverness without being too sentimental but it takes on the subject of the Hispanic society with just the right touch.

The actors involved, of course, have a lot to do with the making of a good film and overall, the actors are perfect for their roles, each one of them bringing a dose of reality to the screen.

Not everyone is going to get this film but in my opinion, "From Prada to Nada" is a highly enjoyable movie that surprisingly has something for everyone.

This movie has characters all over it, some with ridiculously short skirts and way too high heels. It has elements of a culture completely unrelated to my country, Australia, yet the peoples emotional connections come through clearly. I've known ethnic groups and come from half Italian one myself, enough to be able to recognise the clarity of the writing with respect to the beliefs and customs of these Mexican people living in LA. I have been to LA but didn't go to East LA apart from some fast food stands in Glendale ;) but the murals and artwork, the street appeal of it all is right there in this movie. It's very real and not just pandering to a pc crowd of wannabe humanitarians, it's the real deal. At the same time it's light hearted enough to be a romantic comedy but deep enough to capture some real human emotion. As I said in my title, it's much better than you'd think it will be. Damn girl that dress is short!