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| Nostalgic `Selena' only for true fans |
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by Jessica Peterson
I arrived at the theater an hour and a half early, knowing that here in the heartland of Selena's fans, the line for her movie biography would be long. However, the 200 people already waiting did not all resemble the preteen Latinas who dominated the national news after Selena died. Selena is no longer the sole property of the Tejano fans who catapulted her to fame; she has become a national curiosity. Though survey-takers noted the sex and color of everyone waiting in line, the ethnic composition of her audience should not be the main issue. Selena 's audience, like Selena herself, represents a mix of cultures. Her father, Abraham Quintanilla (Edward James Olmos), tells her that her heritage prevents her from truly being either Mexican or American. However, the film shows a girl whose blood and music originated in Mexico and whose life and career are 100 percent American showbiz. Selena is a big, shiny Hollywood eulogy, a tribute to a woman most Americans had never heard of until her tragic death captured the nation's attention. The movie suffers from too much well-meaning but exaggerated reverence for her legendary talent. The young Selena shows off a dubbed-in adult singing voice that is so incongruous with her little body that the scenes bring to mind tall tales like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill. The awed, fateful sense of Selena's road to fame also comes off a little bit too think and self-important, considering that a large part of the movie's audience will be just learning about her instead of celebrating her memory. The most thrilling parts of the movie come when Jennifer Lopez recreates Selena's stage performances. When Selena enters the Astrodome and the crowd erupts, she is the center of the universe. Before the appearance of Selena's future husband, Chris Perez (Jon Seda), as the band's guitarist, the life of the Quintanillas plays like a Latino Partridge Family. The whole cozy family snuggles in their tour bus and lives for Selena's chance to make it big. As a romance develops between the star and the scruffy new musician, the characters start to take on a more realistic dimension. The relationship, forbidden by Selena's father, somehow energizes and humanizes the whole family as each of them warms to Chris and conspires against Abraham's furious disapproval. At last, the Quintanillas are real people instead of just Selena's eternal promoters. Selena's triumph at the Grammy Awards means that she has finally entered the exclusive world of entertainment success, which leads to her "crossover" English debut. During this time Yolanda Saldivar (Lupe Ontiveros), president of her fan club, enters her life. The film glosses over Yolanda's murder of Selena in a motel with a montage of ambulances and hospital scenes. The movie closes with images of the real Selena's work, leaving her fans in a warm rush of memories. The film's believable depiction of her life delivers some posthumous justice for the fame she could not live to achieve. Nevertheless, only true fans will appreciate the film's nostalgia, which makes it a bit too melodramatic for the uninitiated.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the April 4, 1997 issue. |
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