The fairy-tale of Mexican-American singer Selena, whose life was cut short by her bookkeeper.There is still another wonderful Edward James Olmos performance as her protective father. As he did as Jaime Escalante, an LA high school math teacher, Olmos commands the screen as the dominant force in his daughter's life. A hard worker who strove for more, the Olmos character did know when it was time to relent.The film is often cliché. Presto, and Selena was a star of great magnitude. While Jennifer Lopez did an admirable job, she is still Jennifer and in some scenes, she sounded as she did up against Ralph Fiennes in "Maid in Manhattan."

Selena was not all that to begin with. I lived in the same neighborhood she did. I didn't know her personally, but heard enough about her to dislike her. When she died, I didn't much care. She was treated like a goddess here. Murels, paintings, renaming of the convention center, etc. Enough is enough. Her music was mediocre at best. Her dad was twice the ass he was portrayed in this movie. He was a selfish man who cared about no one but himself. His daughter died, and he used the opportunity to make an extra buck. This movie sucked, and was misleading as to the true nature of the incident and circumstances surrounding it.

oh my gosh. i watched this movie in Spanish class last week, and before this, i had never heard of selena. after watching the film, i have now downloaded about 26 songs of selena's and bought the movie for myself.i absolutely loved this movie from beginning to end. jennifer lopez did an amazing job. i couldn't tell which parts were the real selena and which ones were lopez. all of the actors/actress in this film were wonderful. i fell in love with the family from the moment i saw them. they're all so believable and i actually forgot i was watching a movie. i felt every bit of happiness and joy and pain that they experienced. i fell in love with selena. if lopez portrayed her accurately (i wouldn't know because i had no idea who she was before i watched the film) then she must have been one incredible person. its just so sad her life was cut so short.at the very end of the film, when they threw the white rose on the stage i thought.. oh no! something's gonna happen. the next thing you see is her on a stretcher and a radio announcer's voice saying that she had been shot. that moment killed me. i started bawling right in the middle of class! i loved her from beging to end and to see her die that way at such a young age is heartbreaking. i was only 5 when she died, so i didn't know about it, but her fans at that time must have been mortified. if jennifer portrayed her correctly, the real selena must have been..(besides and outstanding singer) a truly wonderful human being.the tribute at the end is amazing. i loved the candlelit vigil for her at the end with the real pictures and clips of her. i love how the movie was focused of the celebration of her life and how much she accomplished in a short amount of time and not her tragic death. for that many people to be so affeccted by her death.. well that must mean that she was really truly and incredible human being, and she is missed by many and will never be forgotten.

Selena becomes the voice of a new generation of Tejanos, casting her own spell as a major contributor to the universal language. The movie gives us a generous helping of the Selena songbook, and shows how it developed from her father Abraham's (Edward James Olmos) dreams when he was a young Dion and the Belmonts wannabe in Corpus Christi of the early '60s. Olmos role turns the story into a touching and enchanting family flick.The issue of perceived identity—between Mexican culture and American culture—is a constant throughout the movie and something Selena comes to flow between naturally....For my complete review of this movie and for other movie and book reviews, please visit my site TheCoffeeCoaster.com.Brian Wright Copyright 2007