Spare Parts (2015)

If you are wondering this is a B movie, I would say yes, but no. Because I have seen some of this director's movies and he gives the best in this category. Not so popular, small budget, low production quality, all these does not mean not worth a watch. In fact, this film somehow got two most recognisable faces, Marisa Tomei and Jamie Lee Curtis in the supporting roles. And not to forget George Lopez was better than these two who appeared in a prominent role.This film was based on the true story of the robotics club of the community high school from Phoenix, who went to participate in the national underwater robotics competition. That was the year 2004, four unlikely, undocumented Mexican immigrant students came together for a project that meant for university level teams. The rest of the story tells their journey from nothing to something.A very inspirational movie, just like 'October Sky'. But in the beginning I was quite not sure, because of the production quality. Then realised that the issue was something else. The film talks mostly about immigrants, due to the majority of characters Mexicans, I felt like watching non-American movie, thus it did not look like a regular Hollywood brand. It comes under the category of 'Life of Pi', 'Memoirs of Geisha' et cetera, where it demands the new faces but still a very much Hollywood.You know these kids who had no experience, built a water robot from the scraped and cheapest spare parts which cost only under $800 and competing with reigning champion like MIT is like ISRO against NASA. Because ISRO sent a low cost rocket to Mars at a very first attempt where many giant countries in the space program had failed to do. And won 2015's space pioneer award, which was very much similar to this movie. So this film is just like a school version of that and an example for nothing is impossible if you put your effort with a right mindset."The first rule of engineering is... you never build anything with real material... until you build a proof-of-concept model."Not the whole narration is about the robot, but it is the center and awesomely constructed stories of all the characters that connects to it. Since the kids are illegally staying, their's each tale about the struggles in the society as well as in the family was emotionally told. Individually, they are nothing than a thief, a prey to the bully, a prey for the domestic violence and an ordinary fat kid. But their talents in the various fields brought them together by a teacher. As a team they achieve something more than a miracle. A movie like this must be shown to students in the schools to motivate their interests. A car thief and a mechanical engineer have the same knowledge, but the difference is one is educated and the other one is illiterate or the school dropout. If the talents are utilised well in a childhood itself, the future will always be brighter. I think every school need to appoint a teacher whose work is to interact with students to find their gifts and to show the right path.In this movie, the timing of those four students and the new teacher was absolutely perfect. And so they saw the life changing moment. It does not happen like that in everyone's life, so sometimes it should be the parents. If both, teachers and parents fail, that's the trouble for that kid as well as the society. This film is not the most popular one, that's the most disappointment. Just don't ignore it, it is a definitely a must see by all the age, because inspiration is not just for the youngsters.8.5/10

"No matter what happens up there, I don't want the word "Hooters" coming out of your mouth."Is your mood not that positive and you've lost your faith in things, then I advise you to go and watch this movie, because this is a feel-good movie of the first rank. After watching this "everything-is-possible" movie, maybe you're going to realize that things aren't that bad and that for every hopeless situation there's a solution. You should only believe in it and grab every opportunity with both hands. Nothing seems impossible as long as you don't waste your perseverance. Voila, thus the positive tone of this film has been set. It's a film that contains all the ingredients needed to make some kind of Disney-like story in which a group of students without a future (and some without identity) and looked at as outcasts and hopeless underdogs, have to compete against individuals who have everything and whose future looks promising. Without much effort you can mention countless movies dealing with the struggle of the weak against the strong (like "The Karate Kid", "October Sky", "The Blind Side", "Forrest Gump", "Major League" ...)"Spare Parts" also belongs in this list. Young people of Mexican descent, most undocumented, are attending a high school in Phoenix and being assisted by passionate teachers and an enthusiastic director (Jamie Lee Curtis), despite their sometimes desperate situation, so they can obtain a proper education. Fredi Cameron (George Lopez), an engineer, is apparently desperately looking for a job and therefore applies for the vacant position as temporary science teacher. At the insistence of Oscar (Carlos Pena Vega), who due to the lack of a birth certificate can't enlist in the US Army, Fredi accompanies a group of students to compete in a national robot competition against renowned universities such as MIT and Virginia Tech.The sad thing about such "underdog-contending-with-a-superior-group" films, is that the outcome is already known before the film started. An additional issue covered in this film is the problem of people living illegally in the USA. The constant threat of being arrested and deported, is regularly brought up. Furthermore, the known clichés aren't eschewed either. The sympathetic teacher who acts as a father figure and apparently suffers of a trauma out of the past (although this is not really explained in detail in this film). The romance that blossoms between him and fellow teacher Marisa Tomei (Gwen Kolinsky), a single mother who also happens to know a bit of programming. The animosity between the young people that slowly turns into an intense friendship. And of course the ultimate denouement which is so obvious. Although I had to restrain myself from spontaneously bursting into an applause. But that's usually the objective of such a movie.Certainly you can't say this film is truly original, but the performances are admirable. The diversity of the teenagers and their array of talents ensure both funny and heartfelt moments. Maybe at times a little bit too corny. Oscar is the driven leader. Christian (David Del Rio) is the intellectual who has a proper scientific solution for every problem posed. Lorenzo (Jose Julian) is the electronics specialist and Hector (JR Villarreal) is not the brightest of them all but surely is useful when it comes to lifting things. Both the interaction between these characters and the way they build a prototype with cheap material and spare parts (even tampons solve a problem) creates humorous moments. And I thought Jamie Lee Curtis was a surprise as a supporting act. A director who uses non-conventional methods for running a school. Brilliant at times."Spare Parts" certainly isn't a blockbuster and will appear in the VOD circuit. It's no more than a TV movie based on a true story, as so many movies have already been broadcasted. The most captivating moment was when Jamie Lee Curtis announced the results via the intercom, and you see that nobody is really listening. A brief moment so meaningful : a school community where certain individuals do well-intentioned efforts and you realize that this school community show no interest in it at all. Fortunately, it's not always like that ! More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

A sort of "Stand and Deliver" for the Dreamer generation, "Spare Parts" is loosely based on the true story of an unemployed-engineer- turned-substitute-teacher (George Lopez) who leads a quartet of undocumented Phoenix, Arizona high school students to victory in a national competition to see who can design and build the most efficient underwater robot (Fredi Cameron, we discover at the end, is actually an amalgam of two real-life teachers).As written by Elissa Matsueda and directed by Sean McNamara, "Spare Parts" feels awfully hackneyed and familiar at times, but what it lacks in originality and sophistication, it more than makes up for in sincerity and heart. In fact, it could easily have been just another story about a handful of Davids going up against a whole host of Goliaths, but it achieves an added sociological dimension by illustrating what life is like for kids and their families who live under constant threat of being deported due to their legal status. The movie features a cast of highly likable young actors: Carlos PenaVega is the super-driven whiz kid who turns to the project after he's denied entrance into the U.S. army due to his lack of papers; David Del Rio is the friendless, picked-upon nerd who finds acceptance in the group; Jose Julian is the petty thief from a troubled home who gets roped in as a sort of punishment for his crimes and stays for the glory, and Oscar Gutierrez is the thick- skulled, good-hearted lunk who provides much of the brawn needed to balance out the brains on the team. In addition to Lopez, the adult cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis and Marisa Tomei as a supportive principal and teacher, respectively, and Esai Morales as an anything-but-supportive parent."Spare Parts" pushes too hard at times for its emotional effects as it ticks off its requisite plot points. And it probably works better with a younger, less jaded audience who hasn't seen this type of Cinderella story a million times before. But you'd have to be a complete curmudgeon not to find yourself cheering these underdogs on to victory in the big contest.

I found the rating of this movie to be over reaching. While the cast was an interesting blend, I just didn't feel much of the characters fit. Lopez didn't feel like he connected at all, and many of the scenes were very forced. I really appreciate that this is a true story, but I felt the acting (or maybe the directing) was just off point. the 5 stars are simply for the story told.I will say Esai Morales, José Julián, and Marisa Tomei did a pretty good job for their roles, they felt believable. I was surprised that Jamie Lee Curtis went for the role she did, while it was completely believable, there were some parts that had me going "really? ...why would she do that?" Carlos PenaVega was believable but the acting fell short in many cases, again forced emotions and sloppy writing for certain situations. Young actors are often caught posing and much like project almanac, often blank or shy smiling in moments that don't call for it.