'Quinceañera' crafts colorful family drama

In case you were wondering, the title refers to the Mexican ceremony marking a girl's 15th birthday.

That celebration -- a sort of bat mitzvah and debutante ball combo -- is the springboard for the film "Quinceañera" (Sony Classics), which deservedly won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. It also won a prestigious Humanitas Prize, which honors stories that affirm the dignity of the human person, "for its enlightened view of living in a multicultural world."

It is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age drama concerning Magdalena (newcomer Emily Rios), a sweet-natured 14-year-old from Los Angeles' Echo Park district who finds herself unaccountably pregnant, and her sexually confused cousin Carlos (Jesse Garcia), who are taken in by their gentle great-uncle, Tio Tomas (an extraordinarily touching Chalo Gonzalez), after their families reject them.

Carlos, who was initially seen being thrown out of his sister's "quinceañera" by his father (for being gay, we later learn), is flattered to be invited to a party given by Tio's gentrified upstairs neighbors -- British Gary (David W. Ross) and his partner, James (Jason L. Wood) -- but their interest in him turns out to be purely, even predatorily, sexual, as the disillusioned Carlos painfully discovers. At first, Carlos registers as a thug, but his humanity becomes increasingly apparent as the film progresses.

The film avoids cliché as, for example, when Magdalena's boyfriend, Herman (J.R. Cruz), does not immediately drop her at the first hint that she's pregnant, and assures her he'll see her through it, and take responsibility though even he is puzzled by how she came to be in this condition. (Herman's mother will prove an obstacle, however.)

Magdalena's pregnancy -- as she insists she and Herman never went "all the way" -- has echoes of the virgin birth, a point mentioned several times, though this is treated with discretion, and serves as an ironic counterpoint to the rigidity of her unyielding preacher father (Jesus Castanos-Chima), who showers her with contempt when he learns of her predicament. (He runs a storefront church.)

Magdalena's simple goodness is never in doubt. In one scene, for instance, she says if she could travel back in history, she'd want to go to Jesus' time to see what really happened in the Bible.

Writer-directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland's colorful family drama with its moving themes of tolerance, redemption and forgiveness overcomes some plot elements -- however understated -- that may not be to every taste. They've said they wanted to reinvent those 1950s and 1960s English "kitchen sink" dramas of Lindsay Anderson, John Schlesinger and the like, with their blending of realism, humor and political commentary.

Whatever their intent, this memorable and handsomely shot film is very much their own. The performances here have the uncanny ring of truth about them, and the film overall presents a positive portrayal of the Latino experience.

This film contains brief violence, some rough and crude language, sexual banter, premarital sex, a couple of nongraphic homosexual encounters, and drug use. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Barnyard (Paramount)
Clumsy if colorful computer-animated tale set on a farm where, unbeknown to the farmer, the animals can walk and talk like people, and centers on a callow young cow (voiced by Kevin James), who must grow up quickly, reluctantly assuming leadership to stand up to a marauding gang of coyotes after his father (Sam Elliott) is killed defending the barnyard from the predatory pack. Directed by Steve Oedekerk, the film's admirable, if heavy-handed, message about embracing responsibility and putting the common good ahead of one's own self-interest is undermined by a mediocre script padded with raucous, redundant mayhem and silly sight gags at the expense of story and character. Mildly crude humor, some menace and peril that may be upsetting to very young children, heedless theft and several mature story elements. Ratings: A-II (PG)

Boynton Beach Bereavement Club (Roadside/Samuel Goldwyn)
Touching story about widowed and divorced seniors in Florida adult community who meet in a bereavement group and come to learn that life is far from over, as they forge friendships and romantic relationships. Director and co-writer Susan Seidelman has gathered a first-rate cast including Joe Bologna, Dyan Cannon, Len Cariou, Sally Kellerman, Michael Nouri, Renee Taylor and Brenda Vaccaro, and has, for the most part, avoided hackneyed treatment, and with good messages about recovery from grief, finding unexpected love, and rebuilding self-esteem. Casual view of premarital sex including condom use and pornography, acceptability of divorce, mild innuendo, nongraphic sexual encounters, partial female nudity, a few instances of rough and crude words, a nonsexual encounter with a prostitute, drug use. Ratings: L (not rated)

The Night Listener (Miramax)
Adaptation of Armistead Maupin novel -- "inspired by true events" -- about a gay radio host (Robin Williams) who develops a paternal phone friendship with a young fan (Rory Culkin) who has AIDS and was sexually abused as a child, but then begins to doubt the boy's existence, and wonders if he's not actually speaking with the teenager's blind adoptive mother (Toni Collette). Director and co-writer Patrick Stettner's gloomy but suspenseful film is part psychological drama, part mystery in the M. Night Shyamalan manner, but though the performances are solid and there are some chills, the result is, on the whole, unconvincing. Profanity, rough and crude language, sexual elements including brief footage of an orgy with partial nudity, innuendo, some violence. Ratings: L (R)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Columbia)
Fitfully amusing comedy about a former pit-crew mechanic (Will Ferrell) who rises to the pinnacle of the NASCAR racing circuit, falls from the spotlight and then tries to get back to the top with the help of his beer-guzzling dad (Gary Cole). Despite a goofily entertaining performance by Ferrell, there's not much under the hood when it comes to story and the script by Ferrell and longtime collaborator Adam McKay (who also directs) hits plenty of speed bumps in the form of juvenile jokes by turns vulgar, irreverent, or just unfunny. Recurring crude sexual language and humor, a running gag involving a gay character, some irreverent humor and profanity, drug references, comic violence. Ratings: L (PG-13)

World Trade Center (Paramount)
Two police officers (Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena) wait to be found after being crushed in the rubble of the World Trade Center terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, while their frantic wives (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello) wonder if they've survived, and intrepid good Samaritans (Michael Shannon and Stephen Dorff among them) search the rubble for signs of life. Some may be disappointed that director Oliver Stone eschews an epic approach by focusing on this relatively small, true-life story which nonetheless paints an inspiring picture of bravery, fortitude and sacrifice in the face of enormous adversity. Some intense scenes of peril and suffering, a few profane and crude words uttered under extreme circumstances, injured victims, some bleeding and a brief but disturbing image of the towers with a long shot of a falling body may preclude viewing by younger adolescents. Ratings: A-II (PG-13)

Harry Forbes is director of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More reviews are available online at www.usccb.org/movies.