REFERRING to the hybrid of Spanish and English spoken by nearly 40 million Latinos living in the United States, the new comedy by writer-director James L Brooks (As Good As It Gets) contrives a collision of these two disparate cultures under one roof.

Single mother Flor (Paz Vega) struggles to provide for her 12-year-old daughter Cristina (Shelbie Bruce) in her native Mexico.

Determined to forge a better life for her daughter, Flor flees Mexico for the Latino community in Los Angeles, a home away from home rooted in familiar language and customs.

The mother seeks employment as a housekeeper and is duly hired by highly-strung obsessive Deborah Clasky (Tea Leoni), who is going through an identity crisis, having recently lost her job.

Deborah's husband, John (Adam Sandler), is now the main breadwinner of the household and unlike his wife, his fortunes are glittering.

Flor arrives at the Clasky house to find Deborah and John's marriage in crisis.

Long-suffering John shoulders much of his wife's rages, but she also pours scorn on her teenage daughter Bernice (Sarah Steele), son Georgie (Ian Hyland) and her former jazz singer mother Evelyn (Cloris Leachman).

Rating 7/10