From Prada to Nada: something nice!

the Poster:

the Trailer:


the Plot:
this movie, a modern twist on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, is a romantic comedy story of two spoiled sisters: Nora (Camilla Belle), a law student, and Mary (Alexa Vega), an undergrad party girl, living with their father in a luxurious mansion in Beverly Hills.

Mary has become so "90210" she refuses to admit she is of Mexican descent.

When their Dad suddenly passes away, their posh lives are turned upside down.

at the funeral, they found out that they actually have an older half-brother, Gabe (Pablo Cruz Guerrero) who came with his snooty wife, Olivia (April Bowlby). Gabe was the son that their father never mentioned. and he too was clueless of the father he had.

Nora and Mary discovered they have been left penniless and Gabe offered to buy the house to settle their father's debt. Gabe invited the sisters to stay there but Olivia made their lives as inconvenienced as she could while the major renovation works were carried out. later, Edward Ferris (Nicholas D'Agosto), Olivia's brother came for a lunch and set his eyes on Nora.

Mary showed up intoxicated and after being insulted by Olivia's incessant snide remarks, Nora hauled Mary out of the house into their estranged maternal aunt Aurelia's (Adriana Barraza) modest but lively home in the Latino-centric Boyle Heights neighborhood of East LA.

They were terrified to leave their world of privilege; neither Nora nor Mary speak Spanish or have ever had to take on actual responsibility. The girls gradually adapted to their new environment; their BMW and Prius were traded for the public bus and a used car. Nora chose to defer her law class for a while to work. whilst Mary had to finish her studies.

one day, Edward dropped by at the neighbourhood with the Dominguez's stuffs from the house.

it was really thoughtful of him and the girls were grateful.

upon knowing that Nora is looking for a job, Edward offered a position at his office. Nora refused but ended up applying a post at a law firm that turned out to be Edward's.

Mary was mesmerised by Rodrigo (Kuno Becker), her English Teaching Assistant. She was totally oblivious of Bruno's feelings for her. to make it even worse, she had to lie about her home and the dire straits that she was in to make Rodrigo stay interested in her.

the girls successfully adapt to their new lives.

Mary kept sparring with Bruno.

on the night of a party held by Aunt Aurelia, Mary finally admitted to Rodrigo that she's actually living with her aunt and not that posh. Rodrigo didn't seem to mind as he was introduced to the family by Mary.

as for Nora, she invited Edward to celebrate winning a pro bono case for the people in the neighbourhood. intoxicated by tequila, Nora was kissed by Edward. to Edward's profession of love, Nora backed out and refused to admit her own feelings. incensed, Edward left.

whilst Mary was so happy with Rodrigo that she didn't notice how much Bruno was pining over her. she later left the party to spend the night at Rodrigo's. after that night, Rodrigo then left the neighbourhood and evaded answering calls and keep postponing from meeting Mary.

on Nora's end, she was promoted to another office as a way for Edward to avoid seeing her. disappointed, Nora quit.

life became strained and the sisters snapped at each other. until a letter of invitation from Olivia came asking the sisters to attend the engagement party for Edward and a girl picked by Olivia.

the girls agreed to come as to see the outcome of the house renovation. the staffs, whom are dear to them were still working there.

when Nora saw Edward was engaged to another girl, she was upset and left to be alone. Edward followed her and when alone together, Nora confessed that her initial refusal was not due to lack of love, but an instinctive reaction to protect her heart. they were interrupted and Edward left for his fiancee.

Mary on the other hand, requested for some time alone with Gabe. once without Olivia, Mary gave Gabe their father's letters addressed to him. once done, she mingled around and spotted Rodrigo with another woman whom he later introduced as his wife. the wife was chatty and inadvertantly revealed that Rodrigo tempted her with the house that Mary had earlier on suggested to Rodrigo. broken hearted, Mary left the party and was later involved in an accident that left her scarred, hand and leg casted. her injury was so much so that she had to use a wheelchair and convalesce at home.

as she looked back and noticing the small, small details that Bruno did for her, fixing her car, installing the ramp for her wheelchair, protecting her from bullies in town etc, she was truly touched and went over to Bruno's house across the street.

there she found Bruno's teaching the kids to paint. Mary finally admitted her feelings for Bruno and they kissed.

as the family rejoice, Edward came to the house with a much bigger u-haul van, packed with his stuffs. he requested Nora to sign a lease for the home across the street, fulfilling Nora's quip that the next best home to move into would be the one across the street in the same neighbourhood.

the family on Edward and Nora's wedding. Gabe had earlier confided that he had left Olivia as he couldn't tolerate her anymore.


the Riviu:
the story is a very nice adaptation of Sense and Sensebility. though it was set at present time, the essence of the story was kept and simply translated into a modern society. for example, Edward was free to end his engagement and seek Nora's hands in marriage. in the original story, Edward Ferrars was an honourable man who only seek Elinor's hands after his intended marry his younger brother.

and i really like the chemistry between Nora and Mary. their affection for each other is obvious and believable. there are fights, silent war and all that but at the end of the day, they really love each other.

most of it, i definitely fell for the chemistry between Bruno and Mary. the scene where Mary addmitted her feelings for Bruno was so sweet. the timbre, the smile, the charm oozing from all ends of a macho guy named Bruno before he kissed her alone earned my 3 bintang :)