East Side Story

East Side Love Story is about Diego Campos and his quest to get out of East L.A. and become a chef in his own restaurant. Along the way he finds that sometimes to get away from home, you just need to stay where you are.

First off, the good parts. I liked the acting and the set design. The restaurant in particular reminded me of some of the places I grew up eating in. To me, that's a bonus.

The acting, while heavy handed at times, didn't seem devoid of heart. René Alvarado (Diego) seemed to finally find his voice near the end of the movie. The rest of the cast were fun, if stereotypical, parts. Pablo, the closeted boyfriend. Wesley, the new neighbor with a problem. Bianca, the crazy aunt (or sister, depending on the writer). The understanding and wise maternal figure, Sara. All played to the fullest and farthest the actor could go.

The bad parts: The acting, while good, was deeply uneven. Most of the actors tended to "sell to the cheap seats" instead of going for smaller actions.

The writing was manic and led to uneven pacing. The whole back and forth between two characters, while building drama, was kind of tedious.

The cinematography. Again, while not terrible, shots seemed to go for more group shots than anything else. Reactions were off camera. In particular a scene between Diego and Westley left all of Diego's dialog being delivered while the back of his head was to camera.

The worst offence is the lighting. Maybe it was the copy I watched, but I couldn't see what the hell was going on some of the time. It honest to god looked like it was being lit by a flashlight ... with a dying battery.

All in all though, I would watch it again. Though, not without a glass of wine first.