Anything for Selenas . Am I the only person who was waiting for that moment? Or at least
a moment like that? Because it never happened. I have to say going into watching this series
I had very low expectations because based on my years of cinematic expertise.
I have learned that the first red flags for bad productions are always lighting and bad
wigs. Now luckily they weren t using 100 dollar
light kits but when I tell you those heads were HIT.
I think the hair department just picked up what was on the side of the road, rinsed it
off, flung it off really fast to dry and slapped it on the actors head right before action.
Now why is this a big deal you ask? That is an excellent question.
1. It tells the viewer how much effort went into preproduction.
And B. It tells the viewer how serious we should take your work.
Think about it, when you re talking to someone and they re looking a mess you re not taking
in whatever they are saying. The whole time you re saying to yourself
Oh my God! What is that? Oh my God! What is that?
Yea that was me for over 10 hours watching this series.
It did get better at the end but it was like Up too late.
Before I give my thoughts- Let me set the scene.
In part one of the series the main focus is Abraham and his drive for putting the band
together and its success. Selena is on board. Suzette is like if you
want Sheila E call her cuz I aint the one. AB is like ok I ll do it if you stop talking.
In the very first episode I found the first problem. That was reoccurring and that s that
the storyline focuses on everyone but Selena. I mean I really wonder why it just wasn t
called the Quintanilla s. But moving along, We see AB s downward spiral
of chasing a hit. Abraham and AB finesse their way into a record
deal and we re entering Selena s teenage years. Two more problems arise and we only in the
second episode chile. Being that this is a series and not a movie,
that means you re not as crammed for time and story development.
It was a huge missed opportunity to not have another actor play Selena as a teenager because
Christain as a 15 year old was not doing it for me.
We all know Selena was very playful but Christian s performance gave an adult pretending to
be a kid. So I really was like
Gone with yo wig Gone. Gone.
Wig! Wig! The other problem that was again, reoccurring.
Christians performance very much gave mimicking JLo, who acted like Selena.
Theres a moment when she says When I think about you on base, Suzette on drums. Nothing
else matters. Im like Uhn Uhn Jennifah where you come from
girl? And I know Selena had a raspy voice but-
It was very much giving Boogey down Bronx. I thought Jennifer stepped on to the set.
What s going on her? Christian herself has admitted to growing
up watching the movie til she was blue in the face knowing it backwards and forward.
So I wouldn t be surprised if those years of unconscious studying bled into her performance.
I mean if you were to tell me that all she did to prepare for the series was watch the
movie. I wouldn t fight you on it. But moving along
In the next few episodes we see Selena develop more as an artist.
She wins her first award. She learns Spanish.
Suzette has a sweet moment with a fan We finally meet our beloved Big Bertha when
the band goes on its first tour. We see the changes in her hair.
AB meets his wife. Abraham buys the 3 houses.
So we re going into episode 5 and I realize another problem.
The series very much feels like snapshots of moments.
They gave us 30 minute episodes like it was a sitcom.
That takes away from the experience. But moving along
Selena wins and performs at the TMA s They sign with EMI
AB has a baby. Selena Y los dinos drops the los dinos.
Selena leans more into her passions. AB finally writes Como la flor after five
years of it being stuck in his head but it was worth the wait.
AB recruits Chris Perez with his wig in tow. And here lies the cr me de la cr me of the
problems of part one. Mr. Chris Perez.
First of all when they meet its supposed to be like Guys its here the moment we ve all
been waiting for love at first sight. Im supposed to take Mr Raccoon and Miss Possum
and say awwww. No!.
I- This is so cheesy. By this point in the actual film Selena and
Chris s love story starts to form. Here we get nothing.
Well Im lying they give a couple of looks. They Sing a song together over and over. But
Theres no connection. They go to the beach and have a bland conversation.
I mean no salt no pepper, no paprika, just bland.
They almost get caught kissing and decide to be friends
And Im thinking like- We don t care. We don t care.
They have a stage play reenactment of Chris getting thrown off the bus.
I mean if the struggle bus was real. This would be it.
---child.. Throw it away. So part 2 of the series was advertised as
The Selena we all know. I wish I could say they saw all of the complaints
from part 1 and took note. But part 1 and 2 were filmed together.
I think the part that the writers, producers, directors and even actors missed was- the
whole point of us watching the show was because we WANTED to learn more, see more of what
we haven t. It s not that we weren t open to a new experience.
They simply missed the mark. But moving along
Part 2 actually was better than part one. And what I m about to say is no shade.
This is something that literally came to me as I am recording this.
Every actor s performance with the exception of Christian s in both parts was the same.
It didn t get any better. It didn t get any worse. It was just the same.
Christians got better. You remember that time, I don t know, like
2 minutes ago when I said Christian admitted to knowing the movie back and forth watching
it til she was blue in the face. The reason I think she had a stronger performance
is because it was heavily based on a umm different source material if you know what I mean.
But moving along- Im not going to give a blow by blow of Part
2 because we all know the story. I just want to highlight a couple of moments.
I ll start with the positives. The actress who played Yolanda Saldivar.
She did a phenomenal job. Although as soon as I saw her I was ready
to come through the screen and really let her have it.
Because we know what s about to come. We know this is where the story turns. My heart literally
started beating so fast as soon as they mention her name and every time we saw her after.
Im not going to speak on the real Yolanda. But performance wise- Natasha Perez had it.
The way she talked, her mannerisms. Everything. And kudos to her for even taking the role
of one of the most hated people in the world because there is no amount of money you could
ever give me- do you understand? Let me calm down.
I need to talk about something lighter. Oh-child
This moment here. So a lady and her two daughters are headed
to get icecream. THE OLDEST DAUGHTER STANDS THERE STUNNED TO
SEE SELENA and the lady like who is that? And she like a famous singer.
Beyonce Knowles you better learn not to be afraid of people if you ever wanna be famous
too. Somewhere in there she told her mom to be
quiet and if you know anything about Ms. Tina, you know it did not happen exactly like that.
But it was a cute moment. Now for my biggest problem with part 2.
Chris and Selena s relationship. To add insult to injury of not feeling the
love in part one, they had the nerve to have them arguing every 5 seconds in part 2.
Like you really just don t want me to want them to be together.
Im convinced. One of the things we admire about Selena IS
her love story with Chris so to show it in that light and to read that Chris Perez said
the complete opposite in his book was like ehh. Nah. Not feeling it.
But To be honest. All in all- this is not the worst thing I
ve ever seen. Definitely could ve been better but I couldn t quite put my finger on why
I still just wasn t connecting. That s until I re-watched the movie.
As soon as I pushed play I instantly got emotional.I was instantly invested.
Them rushing to get on stage. Suzy yelling at Selena.
Telling her her outfit was gonna look good .
Selena Giving Chris a kiss before stage. Looking back at her parents before she stepped
out into the arena. Performing the oldies at the astrodome.
AB behind her. Abraham admiring her, saying how beautiful
she looks. Marcella telling her You go girl. The heart.
I can t say its nostalgia because I ve seen this movie a million times.
Its not a throwback for me. As soon as you push play there is something
that comes over you. A feeling that didn t happen with the series.
When Selena and Abraham have that sweet moment when he discovered she can sing. I realized
We didn t really see Abraham being tender in the series. I feel like his anger lingered
much longer and that father/daughter relationship just didn t come across the same.
I try not to be too hard on kid actors because people think it s mean when you re honest.
All im going to say is the film kids were naturals, especially young Selena. And I ll
leave that there. The washing machine.
Followed by the famous Bustier scene. Iconic lines left and right in the movie.
We got no iconic lines in the series. Also Jennifer is wearing a short wig. That
looked decent. In the 90 s. So in 2020 I don t understand why this is
what we got. I just- I cant. AB driving big bertha Another classic moment
with anything for Selena s. I don t know about anybody else but I was
waiting for a moment like this. Never happened.
When Chris auditions at the house for AB and Abraham.
Made me think about how Chris pops up in the series and then we don t see him again.
He shows up with the raccoon on his head later. And that s supposed to be their love at first
sight moment. In the movie there s that instant liking for
him by Selena when she see s his audition. And their love at first sight comes after
Suzy gives him a makeover which was another fun notable moment.
When we see Selena and Chris fall in love. Its gradual but efficient.
And that made me realize chemistry between actors are just as important as the words
on the page if not more. In the film we got to see the edge in Chris
that Abraham felt was too much or not right for his daughter.
The series, he was square. Why would abrahm not like him? This right up your alley. It
just didn t work for him to be like Ahhh Chris stay away from my daughter.
And this is what we are talking about. Later When Selena and Chris are seen hugging
on the bus by Abraham and he blows up. You actually feel bad because the love was
felt. The connection was felt. You re rooting for them.
The stakes felt high when they got married without telling anyone because of the friction.
The series didn t give you that feeling. When Selena sings como la flor to quiet the
crowd. The biddi Biddi montage all the performances.
Jennifer had that fire. I was waiting for it in the series and it never came.
One of the reasons the movie was so good is because the actors spent a lot of time with
the family. The only person the series actors had contact
with was Suzette and it was weeks after they had already started filming.
Edward hung out with Abraham and his friends all the time.
Jon lived in the same house that Chris Perez shared with Selena for 4 months.
Jennifer stayed with the family as well. Suzette said she had moments when she would get scared
just looking at Jennifer. Even down to the way she would sit down and wrap herself in
a blanket. That essence. That spirit. That magic. Sometimes
you just got it. And that is what the series was missing.
What did you think of the series? Do you agree with my critique? Let me know
down below. If you haven t already hop on over to that
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As always. Im all ears. Until next time. Byyyyeee.