[JPL] dissapointing reccomendation, slightly off topic

[Arturo]

I am farily certain most of our esteemed forum mebers have seen the trailer
or are aware of then latest movie by Jeniffer López and hubby Marc Anthony.
It is the film titled "El Cantante"-the singer, the bio-flix of the great
Puerto Rican salsa sonero(improvistional singer) Héctor La Voe (slang way of
saying the voice).His actual surname was Pérez. The film takes its tile from
the Rubén Blades song he wrote with Héctr in mind and is a shortened version
of La Voe's nickname, "el cantante de los cantantes", the singer among
singers. The movie is based on the perspective of Héctor's second wife who
sold the story to the Anthonys who never consulted any of the Pérez family,
children, former band mates, managers, agents, Fania label owners or any one
else who was involved with the career and life of LaVoe. The second's wife
viewpoint is slanted, distorted and ignorant of the singer's roots,
formation and early career. The emphasis of the movie is Héctor torment with
his inner demons and drug addiction which although a part of his life was
not a detterent to his greatness as an artist-similar to Ray Charles. Héctor
La Voe(Marc Anthony) is shown performing songs in concerts he never sang and
others songs which he sang at every concert were omitted. The movie also
perpetuates many stereotypes of Caribbean Latinos and salseros..

The New York and Puerto Rico salsa scene as well as La Voe's band mates and
colleagues are very angry over the depictions in the movie of themselves,
events and of course of their beloved friend La Voe. No one knows why J-Lo
and Marc never consulted any of them or did any facts checks or research.

One of the most scalding reviews I've have ever read was done by the well
known and highly respected music critic for the Puerto Rican daily, El Nuevo
Dia, Jaime Torres,  who attended the screening with Pérez family members and
several colleagues of La Voe.

Here's a Variety review from a non-latino and aperson who is not a 1970s
salsa fan.........   Arturo


El Cantante

A Picturehouse release of a Nuyorican Prods. /R-Caro Prods.
presentation in association with Union Square Works. (International sales:
Voltage Pictures, Los Angeles.) Produced by Julio Caro, Jennifer Lopez,
Simon Fields, David Maldonado. Co-producer, Margo Myers. Directed
by Leon Ichaso. Screenplay, Ichaso, David Darmstaedter, Todd Anthony Bello.

Hector Lavoe - Marc Anthony
Puchi - Jennifer Lopez
Willie Colon - John Ortiz
Eddie - Manny Perez
Ralph - Vincent Laresca
Jerry Masucci - Federico Castelluccio
Johnny Pacheco - Nelson Vasquez



By ROBERT KOEHLER
http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=bio&peopleid=1207>


For "El Cantante," someone left the salsa out on the counter
too long. A virtual template of every imaginable cliche of the musical
biopic,
pic suffers from a lack of narrative and character focus, partly
stemming from the need for producer-star Jennifer Lopez (whose shingle
Nuyorican Prods. has nurtured the project) to have a co-leading part with
substantial playing time alongside Marc Anthony, who portrays
famed, drug-addled salsa star Hector Lavoe. While pic's assured a few
good weeks based on J-Lo's fan base, this gig is headed South in
short order.

Positioning of Leon Ichaso as helmer would seem to be a shrewd
choice, given his finely wrought biopic "Pinero" and his previous "Hendrix."
But script by Ichaso, David Darmstaedter and Todd Anthony Bello
fails to explore in an interesting way what drove such a beloved recording
artist as Lavoe (a huge star for Fania Records from the '60s through
the mid-'80s) to self-destruct in a mountain of cocaine and heroin.

Worse, the central narrative device--Lopez as Puchi, Lavoe's
loving but difficult wife, giving her side of the story for a "Behind the
Music"-style film--is instantly phony and arch. For starters,
Lopez doesn't look like the older woman she plays, even though her
Puchi would actually be well into her 60s. To make matters dicier, Puchi
couldn't have possibly been privy to some of the situations Hector is
shown in, so the whole notion of the pic being her p.o.v. is dubious.

After an on-screen graphic noting that 1985 was Hector's last
good year and a prelude when Puchi arrives like a bitch on wheels for
the filming session, bio flashes back to Puerto Rico, 1963. Hector is a
charming singer with his dad, but he knows that he has to immigrate to
Gotham in order to grab the success he senses is his. Puchi is instantly
attracted to him in a Bronx nightclub, and they're a couple well before
the second reel.

Hector comes to the attention of Jerry Masucci (Federico
Castelluccio), who's forming a stable of talent for his new Fania label.
Matched
with New York-based trumpeter Willie Colon (John Ortiz), Hector begins
developing musical ideas to mix jazz (Willie's forte), merengue
(Hector's passion), samba and other Latin styles into "a sauce" -- salsa.

Sadly, "El Cantante" barely addresses Hector and Willie's artistry,
and never explores (as in, say, Clint Eastwood's Charlie Parker
bio, "Bird") how performing artists moving into new territory develop and
mature. Pic's perhaps unintended suggestion is that Hector arrived fully
formed (hardly the case).

It's quickly apparent that Puchi -- who does little but watch
Hector sing -- is a poor choice for narrator and that her character
has been barely conceived on the page. Evidence of Puchi's comments that
Hector was "funny and corny" almost never pops up, while her tendency
to turn nastier and more spiteful as they grow wealthier and move to
a Central Park townhouse makes her borderline repellant.

Huge chunk of pic's midsection, as well as final reels, are
consumed with Hector fighting his worsening addiction. Puchi repeatedly
chides him, but the fact that she also indulged in drugs in the '60s
and '70s alongside Hector is not addressed.

There's less dramatic rise and fall in "El Cantante" than a
dull, downward slide that only an artist with the power of a Scorsese
could have turned into something fascinating to watch.

Story is interrupted from time to time with welcome views of
Hector and Willie onstage, supported by a fabulous assembly of big-band
players (totaling some 59, according to credits, along with over a dozen
other credited players and dancers). Ichaso's direction appears to
come alive during these musical respites in the grinding narrative, hinting
at a very different movie that might have been.

Lopez conjures up plenty of ferocity and street attitude as
Puchi, but there's no shape, or power, to the wrath. Similarly, Anthony
seems ill at ease playing a rather passive guy who goes far with his talent
but seems to lack an inner compass. He ends up being among the dullest
of movie drug addicts.

Production package is geared for the bigscreen, but the fairly
bland visual design will make pic more than suitable to be seen on
the tube. Within pic's many standard-issue biopic montage sequences, a
fun array of period concert posters and Fania album covers is sure to
be appreciated by salsa lovers. With: Ismael Miranda, Victor Manuelle,
Christopher Becerra, Bernard Hernandez, Jared Everleth.
(English, Spanish dialogue)

Camera (Deluxe color), Claudio Chea; editor, David Tedeschi;
music, Andres Levin; music supervisor, Tracy McKnight; production designer,
Sharon Lomofsky; art director, Nicholas Lundy; set decorator,
Jennifer Greenberg; costume designer, Sandra Hernandez; makeup, Nuria
Sitja; sound (Dolby Digital), Jeff Pullman; sound designer, Dave Esparza;
supervising sound editor, Esparza; choreographer, Maria Torres;
associate producer, Nini Mazen; assistant director, David "Wex"
Wexler; casting, Ellyn Long Marshall, Maria E. Nelson. Reviewed at Toronto
Film Festival (Special Presentation), Sept. 13, 2006. Running time: 116