Review of Bella (2006) by Walter M — 23 Jan 2009

[font=Century Gothic]In "Bella," Nina(Tammy Blanchard)'s pregnancy has been making her sick, keeping her away from work for the past couple of days. When she is late again for her job as a waitress at a Mexican restaurant, her boss Manny(Manny Perez) fires her on the spot. Feeling sorry for her, Manny's brother and head chef Jose(Eduardo Verastegui) chases after her, deserting the restaurant during the busy lunch hour. But at least Nina and Jose enjoy lunch together where Nina gets a new job. Afterwards, they go to the beach...[/font].

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[font=Century Gothic]"Bella" starts off being just plain annoying as we get yet another magical New York City. The directing is amateurish and the acting is worse. Amazingly, the movie gets worse with an endless climactic scene that brings shamelessness to new heights before completely devolving into sanctimonious drivel by the end.[/font].

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[font=Century Gothic]On the plus side, Nina does make some good points about looking for a job and that being pregnant does not automatically make one a parent. But it is awkward siding with Manny who is supposed to be the villain. What is he supposed to do when nobody wants to bring anything to his attention?(I hate guessing games, by the way.) If his employees are that afraid of him, then why don't they quit?[/font].