They say there's only something like 7 different stories you can tell when you break it down. If that's true one of the seven has to be the underdog story...actually, even as I type this I realize the obvious David and Goliath. It's undeniably true that there are only a limited number of base stories you can start with, star crossed lovers, prodigal son (or daughter), etc, which is why it always bugs me when people blast movies for being unoriginal, it's all in the details folks. That being said the last thirty years has seen so many "underprivileged or inner-city school kids rise to a level they were told they never could" movies that I can understand why people get peeved at the similarity. The simple fact is that this plot has become a parent genre unto it's own, generally breaking down to one of two sub-genre's, sports themed ala Coach Carter or Glory Road and academic themed like Dangerous Minds, or Lean on Me. Spare Parts falls into the latter category and is based on the true story of a group of students from Carl Hayden High School who, with the help of a substitute teacher (who happened to have a Ph.D), take a minuscule budget and a whole lotta can-do attitude to a underwater robotics competition in 2004 and end up defeating well funded collegiate level teams including the defending champs from M.I.T.. The contemporary edge this film brings is that the students here are all undocumented illegal immigrants which gives us a look into something that most of us hear plenty about but know very little of. It's also worthwhile to mention that Spare Parts is the first film in a media deal struck by George Lopez with Pantelion films which will branch Lionsgate films with Televisa, a huge Mexican media corporation.Yes, this film is very cliche at times, yes you know what's going to happen (even if you hadn't been aware of the true story beforehand), but does that make this film throwaway or forgettable? Not in the least, while it won't sit among the titans of it's genre like the aforementioned Lean on Me, which is the penultimate movie of this kind in my humble opinion, it delivers the kind of warm fuzzies these films are designed to give without overdoing it. The film, while uplifting, does not go out out of the realm of the real world to do so. All to often films of this nature, most of which are based on a true story, can feel so impossibly sweet that any attachment to the real world is lost, Spare Parts manages to not just keep you in the real world but also give you , what I assume, is a real look inside a world most of us know very little about, the life of a teenager raised in this country but saddled with that illegal tag. The flim walks a tightrope between warming and depressing, undoubtedly what gives it that real feeling I keep alluding to.
It's the humanizing, real world scenarios that help you to understand the plight of these kids, imagine living in a place, seeing all it has to offer, feeling a part of it, then being told that though you are a part of that place for all intents and purposes, technically you are not so there are things you can not do. Immigration is a hot button issue, and there are plenty of arguments that can be made on both sides of the fence, BUT, as with most situations, that all falls on the adults. It's the children who are hit hardest as they A. don't know anything different than the American lifestyle and B. are outside the law through no fault of their own. The student who kicks off the whole thing, Oscar Vazquez (Carlos PenaVega), highlights this so perfectly it hurts. The catalyst for him becoming involved is finding out that his dreams of enlisting in the Army are impossible due to his illegal status. George Lopez, who also produced the film, plays Fredi Cameron, the team's coach/mentor, with the exact right amount of warmth. The rest of the team, Lorenzo, Cristian, and Luis, are all surprisingly well-played given their somewhat limited cumulative acting experience. As the icing on the top of this happy ending cake (get your minds out of the gutter) you have Jamie Lee Curtis who brings some welcome funny as the school's principal.At the end of the day you are not going to be surprised by anything you see in Spare Parts, but you will get another spoonful of that hope flavored ice cream. Unlike some of the less well thought through films of it's kind this pint of ice cream comes off as just the right amount of sweet, not to rich and definitely not bitter.
3 Out of 5 Guttenbergs
