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This week's reviews: Tony Braxton, 'Brady Bunch,' more
(PEOPLE) -- This week, PEOPLE.COM looks at the film "The Crime of Father Amaro," Tony Braxton's album "More Than a Woman" and FOX's "The Brady Bunch in the White House." Movie review: 'The Crime of Father Amaro'
A dashing, idealistic young Catholic priest, Father Amaro (Gael Garcia Bernal), is posted to a small Mexican village, where he soon seduces a lovely 16-year-old congregant (Ana Claudia Talancon). When she becomes pregnant, he urges her to seek an abortion. Though well acted, this Mexican movie (in Spanish, with English subtitles) plays like a telenovela: tears, lust and melodrama reign. "Crime" may sound as if it were based on a true story, given recent headlines and its present-day setting, but its source is an 1875 Portuguese novel. Denounced, understandably, by Mexico's bishops, the film has nonetheless become the nation's biggest locally produced moneymaker ever. Bottom line: Partly answered prayers Music review: 'More Than a Woman'Toni Braxton (Arista)
Some might accuse Toni Braxton of nepotism on this, her fifth album. Her husband of 19 months, former Mint Condition keyboardist Keri Lewis, cowrote and had a hand in producing four tracks, while her younger sister Tamar Braxton cowrote six songs and sings backup on the entire CD. Keeping it in the family, though, brings out the best in Braxton here. Lewis crafted this disc's stunning highlight, "Lies, Lies, Lies," a dramatic, he-done-me-wrong ballad with mostly live instrumentation (including rock-charged guitar) and a terrific background vocal arrangement featuring the Braxton sisters. It's an instant Toni classic, right up there with "Breathe Again," "Let It Flow"and "Un-Break My Heart." Although the rest of the album doesn't quite match that quality, it's still easily more than your average R&B-pop fare. Braxton smoothly shifts from lush, romantic slow jams, such as the dreamy "Rock Me, Roll Me," to trendy, hip-hop-conscious numbers like the Spanish-guitar-laced "Me & My Boyfriend" (featuring a sample from the late Tupac Shakur's 1996 cut "Me and My Girlfriend"). Through it all, her sultry, husky alto shines as she bends and jazzily twists notes with that special Toni touch. Bottom line: A worthy woman TV review: 'The Brady Bunch in the White House'FOX (Friday, November 29, 8 p.m. ET) The Brady Bunch industry, self-parody division, just keeps turning out product. The '90s saw two feature-film send-ups of that oh-so-'70s sitcom. Now this agreeably silly made-for-TV movie finds a way for family man Mike Brady (Gary Cole) to extend his wise rule over the whole country. Mike's rapid political ascent begins with an annoying in-joke -- he's appointed Vice President after the incumbent resigns to become head of Fox Studios -- but the comedy picks up once the polyester-clad populist succeeds a chief executive toppled by scandal. My vote for funniest Brady goes to Carol (Shelley Long), who sees no reason why an adoring First Lady can't double as her hubby's VP. You're sure to laugh when a talking Lincoln portrait advises chronically envious daughter Jan (Ashley Drane) on coping with her "multitude of inadequacies." Then again, you're sure to groan when FDR and JFK toss in their two cents. These Brady things don't know when to quit, but maybe that's part of their charm. Bottom line: Bunch of laughs and a few duds
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