Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 01/16/2007 Run time: 95 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41839 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2002-04-09
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.com
Sirena (Marisol Nichols) is a wealthy 15-year-old who lives in Los Angeles with her widowed father, Nestor (Edward James Olmos), and brother, Joseph. Sol (Nicholas Gonzalez) lives in East L.A. with his extended family. He's a scholarship student at her private school, and they’re both on the swim team. They're attracted to each other, but Sirena can't imagine dating Sol (despite his good looks)--and nor can her shopping-obsessed friends. Meanwhile, Nestor is planning to marry the gold-digging Minerva (Maria Conchita Alonzo). The kids can't stand her, but their father is too blinded by love to see the truth. Produced for Showtime by Jon Voight, The Princess and the Barrio Boy is about people who lose touch with their roots when they leave the old neighborhood behind. Sol serves to remind Sirena and Nestor that it will always be a part of them. For ages 10 and up. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Better than I expected...
My wife rented this, but unlike some of her other choices, I actually watched to the end. The broad outlines of the story are a typical girl meets boy-from-wrong-side-of-the-tracks love story, but there are a few surprises and a few laughs along the way. Other than a few absurdly over-the-top performances (Sirena's friends, and Pauly Shore) the cast is competent and enjoyable to watch. So if you're thinking of renting, it's worth seeing once. Cute story.

If you're thinking of buying the DVD, though, note that it's probably overpriced. There's no main title screen. The DVD starts with ads for other films that you can fast forward through but can't skip entirely, and there's no main title screen at all; the movie just starts right in after the ads are done. In addition, while the movie is full-frame, fitting for a made-for-TV movie, there's an annoying line of artifacts at the top of the screen through the whole thing.

To sum up: A decent rent, but a terrible buy.

Feel Good Movie
This was such a feel-good and heartwarming film. It was so nice to finally view a movie with strong emphasis on family values. I highly recommend this movie for every member of the family.

Good, clean romance movie
If you're looking for a somewhat predictable "chick flick," this one's perfect. My wife lets her Spanish students watch this movie every year, because it's clean and gives insight into the Spanish culture and language. The story follows the "Romeo and Juliet" theme in modern times.