Selena (1997)

We had to watch this in Spanish class and review it as part of our unit about movies, so it's actually my second review for this. I wasn't expecting that much, and my expectations were pretty much met. I understand that people loved Selena and that she was an icon that defined a lot of people's culture, but that doesn't help me appreciate this adaptation of her life. I've always found that I learn a lot more about life from fiction than from stories about actual events. Plus, I always feel like movies about real people and events are pushing you to take them seriously because they "actually happened", which is annoying because a lot of times those movies are a bit lame. This biopic had a lot of the usual negative symptoms, and there's nothing terribly praiseworthy about it.The story doesn't have a whole lot of structure to it, which is not surprising since most people's lives do not follow dramatic patterns. There are some attempts at cohesive plot threads, but these don't come out great. Part of this is due to the nature of the events they are based off of, and part of it is because of insufficient screen writing. The most prominent of these is Selena's strained relationship with Chris, which I think may have been over- dramatized but I'm ignorant as to how it actually panned out. The final conflict with Yolanda would not have worked at all in a fiction story, but I think they did a decent job introducing Yolanda and her friendship with Selena through the limited time that they were afforded with her character. In some ways, it seems like it would have been a better decision to not end the movie with Selena's death, but I think it was necessary since it was geared toward mourning fans that took Selena's passing as personally as that of a family member.Selena is given personality, but I didn't buy in to all of it. She is shown as having a carefree joy that many female protagonists of the past have had, but I'm not sure I believe this to be accurate given her lifestyle. Abraham was easily the best all around character and probably had the best acting performance from Edward Olmos. Chris felt like a pretty flat character that never really got the right kind of attention on screen, as in maybe getting his own scene.The execution is satisfactory at many points and even a bit noteworthy during the concert montages, but there are a number of problems with it as well. Jennifer Lopez does not exactly give a bad performance, but it definitely could have been better. Selena's younger actress was unimpressive at a few points, particularly in her generic portrayals of different emotions. Yolanda's actress probably gave the worst performance out of anyone, followed by Chris. However, Chris might have been poorly written rather than poorly acted. Some of the dialogue flowed nicely, and I didn't notice any problems with it at most points, but whenever the characters' words discussed some event that had been skipped over, it came off as really forced.If you're a Selena fan, you've probably already seen this and you might like it if you haven't. If you aren't a fan of biopics, this is not one of the stronger products of the genre. There isn't much of a cohesive story, which may be worth knowing for some. I wouldn't say that it's worth spending money on, but it's bound to be pretty cheap anyways. Overall Rating: 6.4/10

Love the soundtrack, beyond that it is hard to say anything positive about this movie. I was first soured when before the film went into production they put on a publicity stunt wherein they allegedly were going to tour the country looking for the perfect Hispanic young girl to portray Selena, all along knowing Jennifer Lopez had already been chosen. The local news stations had footage of countless thousands of young Hispanic girls waiting in line to audition. Truly dishonest! As for the actors and actresses, hard to say who was more annoying, Jennifer Lopez and her silly giggle and over-acting or Jackie Guerra, the overweight sister and drummer of the band who never missed a scene where you didn't want to slap her for her annoying portrayal of sister Susie.Jon Seda and Constance Marie are the only redeeming characters, playing their roles without the annoyance factor.You can save time and just buy Selena's Greatest hits CD since the only reason to watch this film is for the music.

Selena is a biographical drama about the life and career of the late Tejano music star Selena, a recording artist who was well known in the United States and Mexico before she was shot to death.It stars Jennifer Lopez as Selena.Edward James Olmos and Constance Marie co-stars.It was written and directed by Gregory Nava.This film concentrates on Selena's relationship with her family and her rise to fame, dealing only briefly with her tragic death. Abraham Quintanilla is a veteran musician who leads a family-based singing group, The Dinos. At a young age, he notices that his daughter Selena has a strong singing voice, and he works her into the act. However, as she grows older, Selena wants to establish her own musical identity; while her heritage is Mexican-American, her primary language is English, and her favorite artists are American pop acts like Donna Summer. While Selena and Abraham sometimes argue about the musical direction of the group, he always respects and supports her talent, and her blend of Tejano roots music and danceable pop rhythms soon sparks a revolution in Latin music. Selena later earns the wrath of her father when she becomes romantically involved with Chris Perez, a rebellious and long-haired guitarist hired to play with the group, but when they elope and Selena convinces Abraham that their love is sincere, Chris is welcomed into the family. After a long string of successes on the Latin charts and playing to a sellout crowd at the Houston Astrodome and a crowd of 100,000 at a stadium in Monterey, Mexico, Selena begins recording her first album in English, which is expected to make her a mainstream star. However, the fates decreed it was an album she would never complete.The movie surmounts its connect-the-dots approach to its heroine's life to create an appealing, energetic look at a too-briefly soaring musical star.Also,it is a simple story of hope and triumph, of one girl with the drive to succeed defying the odds and following her dream that could truly inspire the viewer to achieve their goals.Finally,Jennifer Lopez truly shines in her performance in the title role as she elevates the film immensely with her radiant and energetic performance.

Thought to be the next Gloria Estefan, Selena was a beautiful and gifted young singer who, with the support of her ambitious father and the rest of her family, rose to the top in Latino music. She was about to make the big "crossover" into the mainstream when, at the age of 23, she was shot and killed by the President of her fan club.Jennifer Lopez is Selena, and the story starts before Selena was even born, when her father, Abraham Quintanilla (Edward James Olmos) was in a singing group doing mainstream music at a time when nobody wanted Mexicans unless they were singing Mexican music. Entrepreneurial and always looking to make a better life for his family, Abraham's family put up with him through several ventures, including the formation of a singing group when he realizes that Selena is special. Selena was a family enterprise - they were in her band, her father was her booking agent, and they traveled together in a bus.Selena's voice, performing style, charisma and enthusiasm put her at the top of the Latin charts. She had one other thing going for her - like Elvis, like Jerry Lee Lewis, she was one of the very people she sang to. Their connection to her was very strong.All of this is a build-up to the final few minutes of the film, which are heartbreaking - the real Selena is shown performing and on video with her family, and a candlelight vigil held by her fans is shown as well. What isn't shown is how she died, the assumption being that everyone knows the story. I would have liked a little more background, even just three minutes. All we see is Selena in one scene introducing the President of her fan club. Then later on, there are quick scenes showing the motel where she died, police cars, hospital scenes, and a news report voice-over saying that she went to the motel to obtain financial records and was killed.Even though the viewer knows Selena didn't live, the ending is shocking and sad, as we feel we have gotten to know this young woman, her family, and her dreams. Jennifer Lopez does an excellent job as Selena; Selena's actual singing voice is dubbed. Before Ben Affleck and the paparazzi, which seems to have all calmed down now, there was, and still is, a beautiful, talented actress and performer. Edward James Olmos and the rest of the cast give wonderful performances.This was not a young woman who drank and drove, who did drugs, who was sitting in a parked car in a marginal neighborhood at 5 a.m. and was the victim of a drive-by shooting or a drug deal gone bad. This was a great singer with her whole life ahead of her, a family, a husband and dreams of a baby. That she was struck down so cruelly is sickening.