爱华网In From Prada to Nada, two decked-out, deracinatedMexican-American girls must relinquish their spoiled lifestyle whentheir father dies and leaves them bankrupt. Forced to move into theEast L.A. barrio and go from haute couture to horchata, Nora (thesmart one; played by Camilla Belle) and Mary (the shallow one;Alexa Vega) offend the locals, bump heads with cholas, and allowplenty of opportunity for exaggerated fish-out-of-water jokes.
Loosely based on Sense and Sensibility, the transposition ofJane Austen from England to Los Angeles is hit or miss. On the onehand, L.A. is the perfect setting to illustrate the novel's classconcerns. On the other, it's hard to buy that the threat ofspinsterhood hangs heavy over the head of a modern-day 24-year-old.The romantic plots are by-the-number, and while there is theoccasional scene that escapes predictability — usually thanks toBabel's Adriana Barraza — there is a slick-sheen Disney Channelveneer that steers the whole movie towards easy-answer romance,Katy Perry songs, and such cringe-worthy approximations ofyouthspeak as ''We have joined the working class — lame!'' Theriches-to-rags story is inoffensive, but for a film ostensiblyabout the importance of finding a little spice and flavor in yourlife, From Prada to Nada is surprisingly bland.
