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From Prada to Nada

From Prada to Nada: Latino Comedy Take on Sense & Sensibility

  • Alexa VegaCamilla Belle...
  • ComedyRomance
  • Out now
  • Angel Gracia
reviewed by
Salma Tantawi
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From Prada to Nada: Latino Comedy Take on Sense & Sensibility

Romantic
comedies are often popular because they present their fans with relatable
situations, simple romantic plots and light humour, finishing with a
predictable yet satisfyingly happy ending. From Prada to Nada is one
romantic comedy that aims higher but fails miserably. 

A
supposedly funny Latino take on Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibility, From
Prada to
Nada is about Nora (Belle) and Mary (Vega), two rich
sisters with opposite personalities that enjoy the high life of Los
Angeles. When their father suddenly
dies, they discover that he hasn’t left them anything but debts.

They are then
forced to move in with their kind-hearted aunt Aurelia (Barraza) to a far less prestigious
neighbourhood where they have to deal with sudden responsibilities and the
reality of compromise and sacrifice in order to make ends meet. Although
at first they are unable to come to terms with the sudden culture shock, the
two sisters slowly come to appreciate all they have missed out
on with their extended family.

The first
half hour of the film gets off to a fast pace, where the two sisters are having
their fun, running their usual daily errands to a Katy Perry soundtrack, after
which they go home, their father dies and they have to relocate. As these
scenes unfold really quickly, you’d assume that the rest of the film would continue
at this fast pace, leaving you holding onto your seats in anticipation.
However, the plotline dulls noticeably, and nothing really happens for the rest
of the film, which could have easily been wrapped up in twenty minutes.

This film
is not completely unbearable. The characters are interesting and likeable, though some of
them do fall back on typical stereotypes like the street-wise Latino handyman or
the greedy, evil and blonde wife. The cast’s performances border on jarringly
awkward and fail to be as convincing as they should, especially with the
spontaneous, long speeches that they tend to break into.

From
Prada to Nada
will
not meet any expectations because it simply doesn’t stick to one side. Is it
supposed to be a light romantic tale or a motivational film about life
decisions? The problem is that you can predict this film’s ending from a mile
off, especially since similar riches-to-rags stories have been recently made,
including Material Girls.

Like This? Try

Material Girls, Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Devil Wears Prada     

360 Tip

You may remember a much younger-looking Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez in the Spy Kids film series.

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