Selena Quintanilla Perez was poised to become the next great pop diva when she was brutally and senselessly slain in March, 1995.
| REVIEW | |
|---|---|
 |
Selena At Briarwood and Showcase |
Also quite sadly, the title of that song sums up the biopic "Selena," starring Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos - I could fall in love with "Selena," if it wasn't such a melodramatic chunk of biographical Velveeta.
Letting cheesiness get in the way of the storytelling and emotion that should rule a biography, "Selena" melts under the enormous heat of attempting to retell the tale of a tragic and enigmatic pop icon, never quite living up to its potential.
Going into the film, one can expect that it will turn to other recent biopics for guidance and inspiration. One would expect, perhaps, a female "La Bamba," an abuse-less "What's Love Got To Do With It" or even a less ambitious "Buddy Holly Story." But what "Selena" seems to become, surprisingly, is a Latino "Partridge Family."
Beginning oddly in 1961, "Selena" first depicts the tough life of Abraham Quintanilla (Olmos), Selena's father, as he encounters prejudice for being a Mexican-American trying to make it in the doo-wop industry. (Don't ask.)
Flash-forwarding to the early '80s, Abraham, now incessantly chewing gum, discovers that his youngest child Selena can sing like a little Latina Barry White, since her voice is so deep for her age.
Forcing his other children to learn instruments and form the family band "Selena and the Dinos," a travelling Tejano, a unique hybrid of rock, R&B, reggae, country and polka, that has everything the Partridge's had, except Danny Bonaduce.
Throughout these early years of the film, the performances, namely Olmos', are strictly movie-of-the-week, and the over-the-top "I'm gonna be famous" and "It's OK to be Mexican-American" fairy tale is nearly unbearable, until we flash-forward again - this time to 1989.
Now Selena is a voluptuous 18-year-old, wowing crowds and belting out tunes in both Spanish and English.
With Jennifer Lopez inhabiting the role of Selena, the film takes off with soaring musical numbers and now enjoyably over-the-top drama, depicting Selena's first No. 1 hit, her relationship with bad-boy guitarist Chris Perez (Jon Seda), her bus breaking down, her eating habits and her strangely poignant bungee jumping experience. The film also highlights her first and only Grammy Award, her unfinished English crossover album, her now infamous sold-out Astrodome show and her betrayal at the hand of Yolanda Saldivar, who has since been convicted of Selena's murder.
I could fall in love with the arc of triumph and tragedy that was Selena's life, but the overlong treatment of the story gets muddled in oozing melodrama and cliche.
I could also fall in love with the music of Selena. Infectious and undeniably sappy, Selena's songs and performances are the paramount factor that make the film such a marginal success. From her early hit "Coma la Flor" to the English smash "Dreaming of You" to an unreleased disco medley, Selena's music is her legacy, and it serves as the heartbeat of the film.
I could most definitely fall in love with Jennifer Lopez - in fact, I already have. If the music is the film's heart beat, then Lopez is its sexually charged soul. Eerily emulating the slain Tejano goddess, Lopez is all smiles and ambition, making us love and believe in Selena, even if the rest of the film is predominantly disposable.
Lopez is so outstanding as Selena that the film becomes less of a tribute to Selena than a launching pad for saucy, spicy and above all, talented ex-Fly Girl Jennifer Lopez, soon to be seen in the big summer snake thriller "Anaconda," as a journalist and in Oliver Stone's "U-Turn," as a small town seductress.
I could fall in love with "Selena" and you could, too, if only director Gregory Nava could've created a screen treatment that is as evocative and explosive as the short life of Selena - Selena only lived 23 years, but the overwrought, over-cheesed, under-Jennifer-Lopezed version of her life seems twice as long.
Selena (Jennifer Lopez) and her bad-boy guitarist boyfriend, Chris (John Seda), enjoy the crowd.