FALL FROM GRACE

CAST: Camilla Belle,Alexa Vega,Wilmer Valderrama,Nicholas D’Agosto,April Bowlby

Rating: *1/2

Two ultra-rich sisters become dirt-poor when their debt-ridden father falls dead one sunny afternoon. Which explains the film’s title. And just so we completely get the level of destitution,a Prada bag is exchanged for a fistful of dollars. So it’s not nada,no. Nora and Mary have a loving aunt,a roof over their heads and food on the table. What they don’t have are bags that are worth a month’s salary to the people they now live with in East LA,as opposed to their tony mansion in Beverly Hills. No luxe bags,and no slinky Beemers (a BMW to those who don’t know the acronym,the poor things).

From Prada to Nada is a reworked Sense and Sensibility done up in a Latin flavour and accent. While Nora (Belle),the older,more serious sister,is happy to reunite herself with her Mexican roots ,Mary (Vega) shudders at the thought of living on the wrong side of the tracks and not being able to charge endless store visits to her credit cards. Of course,the film brings the girls to see the error of their ways,via a couple of good-looking men. Nora resists the cute,clean-cut charm of Edward (D’Agosto),and the fluffy Mary is destined to come back to the grubby,muscled Bruno (Valderrama) who lives across the road.

Everything about this cheery sit-com-type Jane Austen-meets-Cinderella rom com is utterly predictable. It hits all the ethnic stereotype buttons. The aunt that rescues the girls is a hearty,large-bosomed Latina. The ladies who sew away on their illegal machines are cosy and comforting. There are a couple of badass Latina girls who threaten the dainty maidens who’ve come to live among them. And,of course,the villain of the piece is not the brother the girls didn’t know they possessed till he shows up for the father’s funeral,but his evil wife (Bowlby),who is the only Caucasian in the film with a biggish part. I was hoping for some spice when she appeared,but she’s only allowed to flash crimson lips and mean lines. Predictably,the Mexican brother splits up,and shows up for the festivities that follow the betrothal and weddings.

Most of the actors are not well-known in India,except perhaps for Vega,the little girl from Spy Kids now all grown most pneumatically,who’s got the best lines in the film,and whips them off with a good-natured grin.

shubhra.gupta@expressindia.com