From Prada to Nada

Based loosely and playfully on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility," From Prada to Nada is a predictable but pleasant comedy.

Angel Gracia, whose career has been in European music videos and commercials, imbues his feature directing debut with a televisionlike crispness and disposability.

Simply put, From Prada To Nada is "Sense And Sensibility For Dummies."

While this is no "Clueless," to be sure, it's also, thankfully, no "Born in East L.A."

From Prada to Nada might appeal to tweens but word of mouth won't be nearly as strong as Austen's parlor gossip.

Under all the pretty faces and MTV Latino pop, there's something crassly disingenuous about the movie's blatant demographic pandering (hooray for immigration-panic jokes!) and half-assed condemnation of gluttony.

Features sitcom-style stock characters and situations, not to mention the sort of ethnic stereotypes to be found in TV ads for fast-food Mexican restaurant chains.

Every now and then I'm in the mood to watch a piece of fluff, and occasionally get surprised because the movie turns out to be pretty good. Not this time! My friend wanted to leave during the agonizing first half, but we stayed to the bitter end (I never leave any movie that I shell out bucks to see). The first half is as bad as it gets and you wonder to yourself how a movie like this even gets the green light from a studio to be released. The movie does pick up in the second half, however it is still totally predictable and unoriginal. You have to blame the script writers for this stinker - the actors can only do so much with bad dialogue.

Read Screen Daily's review and can say without even watching this film. This isn't Bronte for Latino's. I am Latino, and would not watch such a cheesy, low budget version of Sense and Sensibility for the world. Not even for a green card [insert joke]. @cinemaquote