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Gregory Nava (
Why Do Fools Fall In Love?) directs this more-or-less official film biography of the late Mexican-American singer, Selena Quintanilla Perez (the film is coproduced by her father), which emphasizes sentimentality over conflict and plays down the star's horrific death at the hands of a deranged fan. Jennifer Lopez is quite good as Selena, whose roots we come to know through the story of her father (Edward James Olmos), a Corpus Christi singer who was rejected by white audiences. The script focuses primarily on Selena's inspiring rise, and it tries to muster some sense of urgent conflict over not-particularly-contentious issues (such as her relationship with a guitarist). But Olmos does a fine job portraying the elder Perez as a possessive sort, and the music and general buoyancy of Lopez's performance are infectious. The unavoidable subject of Selena's killer--a woman who happened to be the president of her fan club--is considerably and oddly downplayed. The film's original widescreen presentation and Dolby soundtrack can be appreciated on the DVD release.
--Tom Keogh
Review
Jennifer Lopez delivers a breakout performance in this biopic that re-teams her with Mi Familia (1995) writer/director Gregory Nava, who continues to explore the Latino-American experience. Nava's engaging script wisely mines his subject's life for humor and conflict, embracing Selena Quintanilla's passion for music, her affair with Chris Perez (John Seda), her tumultuous relationship with her father, Abraham (Edward James Olmos), and the enduring affection of her fans. As director, Nava effectively re-creates his characters' ethnicity without condescension, impressively explores the flip side of life on the road, and in a feat of technical skill, fills a stadium with 35,000 extras to re-create a seminal Houston Astrodome appearance. The pre-"JLo" Lopez is warm and genuine here, foreshadowing her own success as a recording artist while sealing the deal on an acting career that was by no means assured until the one-two punch of this film and the critically successful Out of Sight (1998). Seda is a quiet charmer as the pop star's guitarist and soul mate, while Olmos manages to be both lovable and petulant as the exacting Abraham. At times a hagiographic treatment of her life, a minor fault that can probably be blamed on the real-life Abraham Quintanilla's role as producer, Selena (1997) is nonetheless a satisfying and rich depiction of a talented but too-brief life in music. ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, All Movie Guide
