Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

jb_campo Spare Parts closely mimics Disney's McFarland. A group of high school kids get tutored by an outsider who comes into their community. They exceed expectations, compete against a rich, white community, and overachieve with no budget or support. McFarland used running, while Spare Parts used science. They even had the same scene where the kids go to California, never saw an ocean, and go jumping around in it. Plus the star gets a non-immigrant girlfriend. Despite this obvious borrowing of plot, the story succeeds because of the strong acting from George Lopez as the teacher, Marisa Tomei as a counselor, and Jamie Lee Curtis as the hilarious principal.The bottom line is again that these kids have no shot at success. They have no papers, illegals. But somehow they get inspired to try to make something from basically nothing. They are smart, and tough, but they need a chance. The movie states that it is based on a true story, and the end credits show real pictures of the real people, like is done in so many based-on-true-story movies. I liked Spare Parts, but I think McFarland was better, perhaps because of Kevin Costner's role having more body to it, vs George Lopez, whose character never got fully developed enough to make you feel more for him. At any rate, for a feel good movie, Spare Parts will give you good feelings, so I recommend it. Enjoy.

Steve Pulaski Earlier in 2015, we had the underrated, and criminally underseen, McFarland, USA, a Disney-branded sports drama about a group of Latino cross-country runners that became national headline-makers following their accomplishments in a state-wide competition. The film starred Kevin Costner and, despite its Disney namesake, was a truly inspirational and well-done film that emphasized humanity and cultural significance above everything else, in turn, producing a film that was aware of its minority characters as people and not just minorities.Sean McNamara's far less-seen, and much less-discussed, Spare Parts, which came out a full month before McFarland, USA, proves what happens when humanity and cultural significance is discarded in favor of telling a feel-good story audiences can see without having what they love and cherish being challenged every day. The film tells the story of Carl Heyden High School, an underprivileged, predominately Latino high school, which went on to beat M.I.T. in the 2004 underwater national robotics competition.The film revolves around Fredi Cameron (George Lopez), an engineer who decides to take a substitute position at Carl Heyden High School and subsequently start an engineering club he feels no student in their right mind would join. Much to the disbelief of himself and the school's principal (Jamie Lee Curtis), Oscar Vazquez (Carlos PenaVega), a U.S. Army hopeful, shows interest in his club and decides to join it and help promote underwater robotics engineering as the club's central focus. The club would be focused around constructing, perfecting, and entering a robot built for underwater endurance tests to compete against some of the top technological schools in the country.In an act of desperation, Fredi finds kids like the optimistic Cristian (David Del Rio), the troublemaker Lorenzo (José Julián), and the oversized outcast Luis (Oscar Gutierrez) to join his underwater robotics club in efforts to solidify its chances in a national competition. With that, the group must overcome tough financial barriers that other schools can easily bypass in efforts to prove themselves as worthy competitors, in addition to gaining the approval and support of family members, who view their extra-curricular endeavor as nothing more than a distraction from real work.McFarland, USA was a noteworthy film because it showed Kevin Costner's Jim White character actually getting involved with the lives of his runners in order to understand their homelives. White realizes that while he complained about having his own problems, he didn't have to wake up hours before school every morning to work hunched over in a field, harvesting food in order to assure a complete meal that same day. Lopez's Fredi character doesn't experience the same immersion, and if he does, it's flawed because Fredi has already lived the lives many of his students are currently living. He has nothing really to learn upon reluctantly starting the club. The only time he tries to become involved with the lives of his students is when he goes over to Lorenzo's home to confront his father - after getting drunk off of tequila, nonetheless - about forcing Lorenzo, an illegal immigrant like most of his family, to take the blame for the actions of his little brother, who has citizenship, in order to keep his record clean. As expected, this scene is more confrontational than anything else and simply allows us to see how Fredi can overstep his boundaries every now and then.But because this family angle is lacking, most of the boys, who are wickedly intelligent and crafty when it comes to designing a robot and working out the bugs and inevitable tribulations with little to no help from Fredi, and their families just seem like vapid caricatures with vague development. Furthermore, Spare Parts lacks those crowdpleasing moments that McFarland, USA had punctuated in very frequently, not for cheap dramatic effect, but to showcase constant progress on the boys' behalf. Those moments transition to back-patting moments when they should be electric, given how much these kids achieve with how little they have.As stated, it's tough reviewing Spare Parts, which, again, came out first in the United States, when you're constantly comparing it to another, better film that came out a month later. But even if McFarland, USA didn't come out at all in 2015, it doesn't excuse the painful adequacy that is Spare Parts, a fine, but ultimately forgettable, story that shows that a lack of privilege doesn't give you a lack of creative options in a way that doesn't humanize nor seem captivated by its characters enough to explore them as human beings.Starring: George Lopez, Carlos PenaVega, David Del Rio, José Julián, Oscar Gutierrez, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Directed by: Sean McNamara.

Peter Pluymers "No matter what happens up there, I don't want the word "Hooters" coming out of your mouth."Is your mood not that positive and you've lost your faith in things, then I advise you to go and watch this movie, because this is a feel-good movie of the first rank. After watching this "everything-is-possible" movie, maybe you're going to realize that things aren't that bad and that for every hopeless situation there's a solution. You should only believe in it and grab every opportunity with both hands. Nothing seems impossible as long as you don't waste your perseverance. Voila, thus the positive tone of this film has been set. It's a film that contains all the ingredients needed to make some kind of Disney-like story in which a group of students without a future (and some without identity) and looked at as outcasts and hopeless underdogs, have to compete against individuals who have everything and whose future looks promising. Without much effort you can mention countless movies dealing with the struggle of the weak against the strong (like "The Karate Kid", "October Sky", "The Blind Side", "Forrest Gump", "Major League" ...)"Spare Parts" also belongs in this list. Young people of Mexican descent, most undocumented, are attending a high school in Phoenix and being assisted by passionate teachers and an enthusiastic director (Jamie Lee Curtis), despite their sometimes desperate situation, so they can obtain a proper education. Fredi Cameron (George Lopez), an engineer, is apparently desperately looking for a job and therefore applies for the vacant position as temporary science teacher. At the insistence of Oscar (Carlos Pena Vega), who due to the lack of a birth certificate can't enlist in the US Army, Fredi accompanies a group of students to compete in a national robot competition against renowned universities such as MIT and Virginia Tech.The sad thing about such "underdog-contending-with-a-superior-group" films, is that the outcome is already known before the film started. An additional issue covered in this film is the problem of people living illegally in the USA. The constant threat of being arrested and deported, is regularly brought up. Furthermore, the known clichés aren't eschewed either. The sympathetic teacher who acts as a father figure and apparently suffers of a trauma out of the past (although this is not really explained in detail in this film). The romance that blossoms between him and fellow teacher Marisa Tomei (Gwen Kolinsky), a single mother who also happens to know a bit of programming. The animosity between the young people that slowly turns into an intense friendship. And of course the ultimate denouement which is so obvious. Although I had to restrain myself from spontaneously bursting into an applause. But that's usually the objective of such a movie.Certainly you can't say this film is truly original, but the performances are admirable. The diversity of the teenagers and their array of talents ensure both funny and heartfelt moments. Maybe at times a little bit too corny. Oscar is the driven leader. Christian (David Del Rio) is the intellectual who has a proper scientific solution for every problem posed. Lorenzo (Jose Julian) is the electronics specialist and Hector (JR Villarreal) is not the brightest of them all but surely is useful when it comes to lifting things. Both the interaction between these characters and the way they build a prototype with cheap material and spare parts (even tampons solve a problem) creates humorous moments. And I thought Jamie Lee Curtis was a surprise as a supporting act. A director who uses non-conventional methods for running a school. Brilliant at times."Spare Parts" certainly isn't a blockbuster and will appear in the VOD circuit. It's no more than a TV movie based on a true story, as so many movies have already been broadcasted. The most captivating moment was when Jamie Lee Curtis announced the results via the intercom, and you see that nobody is really listening. A brief moment so meaningful : a school community where certain individuals do well-intentioned efforts and you realize that this school community show no interest in it at all. Fortunately, it's not always like that ! More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

Rageypoo I found the rating of this movie to be over reaching. While the cast was an interesting blend, I just didn't feel much of the characters fit. Lopez didn't feel like he connected at all, and many of the scenes were very forced. I really appreciate that this is a true story, but I felt the acting (or maybe the directing) was just off point. the 5 stars are simply for the story told.I will say Esai Morales, José Julián, and Marisa Tomei did a pretty good job for their roles, they felt believable. I was surprised that Jamie Lee Curtis went for the role she did, while it was completely believable, there were some parts that had me going "really? ...why would she do that?" Carlos PenaVega was believable but the acting fell short in many cases, again forced emotions and sloppy writing for certain situations. Young actors are often caught posing and much like project almanac, often blank or shy smiling in moments that don't call for it.