La Bamba

Ritchie Valens died at seventeen alongside Buddy Holly in a plane crash, but not before leaving several records including the one which gives this film its title, 'La Bamba'. A straight biopic covering 1957-1959, the last two years of Valens' life, this showcases his music, his family, and his personality. In the lead Lou Diamond Phillips does perhaps his best work, although the rest of the cast are in strong support. I just didn't get a feeling that this film had much of a heart - yes, there is the jealous brother, and the girlfriend whose parents don't approve, but it is all a bit hollow. So the film is only a bit of a diversion, nothing special.

It's a biopic of the young rock & roll singer Ritchie Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips) and his legendary life. It starts in 1957 with Ritchie and his mother Connie Valenzuela (Rosanna DeSoto) working as farm laborers. His brother Bob Morales (Esai Morales) comes with his ill gotten gains to move the family to Southern California. Bob's girlfriend Rosie (Elizabeth Peña) comes along eventually getting married. However Bob gets more abusive and turns into a drunk. Ritchie plays in a garage band, falling for Donna Ludwig (Danielle von Zerneck), and catching the eye of record producer Bob Keane (Joe Pantoliano). Written and directed by Luis Valdez, this is a fairly straight forward biography. The style is simple. The music is rocking good. It's one of the best performance of the early Lou Diamond Phillips. Rosanna DeSoto and Esai Morales also put in good performances. The character Donna needed a better actress, but overall the performances were good. It's a rock solid movie.

I was a Junior in High School the "day the music died" so I knew how this movie would end going in. I saw the movie in theatrical release in 1987. In the row in front of me was a group of 14-year-old girls. It was apparent that they did not begin to guess the ending until the Beechcraft was rolling down the runway at Mason City. There may have been some "Hollywood" to this version of Valen's life, but overall it was a very well done Bio. Lou Daimond Phillips is actually better looking than Valens, but he was convincing in the role. Joe Pantoliano is often overlooked, but I think his "Bob Keene" was also strong.

Cute and sad, short and talented biography of Ritchie Valens, so sore, that family's pity, a bright future shattered by an accident, probably his phobia for flying and accidents were premonitory warnings, sometimes (almost always) we must listen to our sixth sense, heart, unconscious, voices of God, whatever... The beautiful songs "La Bamba" and "Donna" are immortalized...

Moving and emotional film which deals with the last few months of Ritchie Valens' life. Lou Diamond Phillips is super as the doomed youth who became a national super-star at the age of 17 because of his rock music. However, his life was cut short as he died in a plane crash along with Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper in the late-1950s. The direction is strong and the screenplay is smart and insightful. Joe Pantoliano is good in a supporting role. Esai Morales is excellent as Phillips' older brother. 4 stars out of 5.

A heartfelt biopic of Ritchie Valens, the '50s rock and roll singer whose career was cut tragically short when he was killed in a plane crash just after reaching the heights of fame. The film itself follows a traditional format, showing Valens's humble working background and the gradual successes before he hits the big time. Along the way, many scenes are given over to Ritchie's relationship with his brother Bob, a tempestuous character who adds plenty of drama to the proceedings, and there's also time for romance. Although Lou Diamond Phillips didn't do the actual singing, I think he makes a good fist of portraying Valens. He certainly brings a youthful energy to the part. Inevitably, the music scenes are the highlight of the film and a good job is done of making them as accurate as possible. The inevitable outcome adds a tragic twist to the film as a whole, which is really a celebratory outing of one man's outstanding talent.