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Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Rebecca Lee Meza, Jon Seda, Constance Marie ... see more see more... , Jacob Vargas , Lupe Ontiveros , Richard Coca , Panchito Gomez , Sal Lopez , Leon Singer , Victoria Elena Flores , Jackie Guerra , Rafael Tamayo , Ruben Gonzalez , John Seda , Alex Meneses

Selena Quintanilla was a major figure in Tejano music, a Grammy-winning recording artist, a beloved star in the American Southwest and Mexico, and seemed poised to cross over into mainstream popularit... read more read more...y on the U.S. pop charts when she was murdered on March 31, 1995 by the president of her fan club. Written and directed by Gregory Nava, this biopic concentrates on Selena's relationship with her family and her rise to fame, dealing only briefly with her tragic death. Abraham Quintanilla (Edward James Olmos) is a veteran musician who leads a family-based singing group, The Dinos. At a young age, he notices that his daughter Selena (played as a child by Becky Lee Meza) has a strong singing voice, and he works her into the act (her big number is a version of Over the Rainbow). However, as she grows older, Selena (played as an adult by Jennifer Lopez) wants to establish her own musical identity; while her heritage is Mexican-American, her primary language is English, and her favorite artists are American pop acts like Donna Summer. While Selena and Abraham sometimes argue about the musical direction of the group, he always respects and supports her talent, and her blend of Tejano roots music and danceable pop rhythms soon sparks a revolution in Latin music. Selena later earns the wrath of her father when she becomes romantically involved with Chris Perez (Jon Seda), a rebellious and long-haired guitarist hired to play with the group, but when they elope and Selena convinces Abraham that their love is sincere, Chris is welcomed into the family. After a long string of successes on the Latin charts and playing to a sellout crowd at the Houston Astrodome and a crowd of 100,000 at a stadium in Monterey, Mexico, Selena begins recording her first album in English, which is expected to make her a mainstream star on the level of Whitney Houston or Gloria Estefan. However, the fates decreed it was an album she would never complete. Selena was produced with the participation of the Quintanilla Family (Abraham was executive producer), and Selena's own recordings were used on the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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76% liked it

149,641 ratings

Critics

64% liked it

39 critics

PG, 2 hr. 15 min.

Directed by: Gregory Nava

Release Date: March 21, 1997

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DVD Release Date: September 23, 1997

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Stats: 7,018 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (7,018)

  • spielberg00
    April 2, 2012
    spielberg00
    SELENA isn't the best music biopic, in general (though it did remind me of LA BAMBA with Lou Diamond Phillips), but the performances you'll find here are absolutely stellar. We have J.Lo in her breakthrough performance as the titular singer known best by that one name. Now she ma... read morey not be the greatest actress today (that's a mere assumption from what I see in critical reaction to films like THE BACK-UP PLAN and MONSTER-IN-LAW), but her delivery here is wonderful. Even her oral movements match up perfectly to the recordings of the actual Selena, whose recordings were chosen for soundtrack purposes less than two years prior to Lopez's pursuit in a musical career. Jon Seda is great, as well. He channels musicians like Metallica's Kirk Hammett and Guns 'n' Roses' Slash; we hear the latter band's "Welcome to the Jungle" a few times to enhance his character: a wild, heavy metal animal with too much hair.

    http://themoviefreakblog.WordPress.com/review-selena
  • fb729949618
    August 5, 2011
    fb729949618
    Even if you have never listened to her music, you will still appreciate this film.
  • murphmann93
    June 23, 2011
    murphmann93
    Heartbreaking! A must see!
  • ScoopOnline
    December 17, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    The story of a girl who had the spirit to believe in a dream and the courage to make it come true.
  • stormyweather980
    September 14, 2009
    stormyweather980
    One of the better biographical movies in my book. J-Lo was great in this.
  • Chiefilms
    March 3, 2008
    Chiefilms
    Jennifer Lopez does a fine job in a descent movie.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    February 8, 2008
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    Very good biopic.
  • cosmo313
    January 17, 2008
    cosmo313
    Good bio pic about the short lived career of a rising star. Jennifer Lopez makes her breakout into the realm of celebrity with this one.
  • deano
    November 1, 2006
    deano
    Fantastic and interesting story of an innocent and young Mexican-American singer. Really emotionally.
  • fb100000398655007
    January 18, 2012
    fb100000398655007
    Even if you don't know who Selena is you can still watch this film. This film presented a week plot with decent acting. If your going to make a film about how a female becomes a pop artist then why not focus mostly on what she had to do to accomplish such success. This film shows... read more unnecessary stuff like her concert performances and dialogue that has nothing to do with the conflict. The most unnecessary part was the two guys in the low rider. It would have been way better if they focused on the romance between Selena and her boyfriend. Then towards the end when Selena dies the audience can connect with her more and feel for her family and boyfriend. They could have made the ending better and more dramatic. If you'r a fan of Selena or Jennifer Lopez then you should watch this.

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Critic Reviews

Todd McCarthy
March 27, 2009
Todd McCarthy, Variety

Selena surmounts its connect-the-dots approach to its heroine's life to create an appealing, energetic look at a too-briefly soaring musical star. Full Review

Stephen Holden
May 20, 2003
Stephen Holden, New York Times

By the end of the film, Selena has been all but canonized. Full Review

Edward Guthmann
June 18, 2002
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Nava, who started his feature-film career with El Norte, is a good director who invariably finds a strong rapport with his actors. He's not much of a writer, though, and he should think twice about cr... Full Review

Peter Travers
May 11, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Missing is a sense of the interior life behind the smiling face that Selena showed the world. What of the drive that led her to music? What comfort did she find in it? What pain?

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

This is a simple story of hope and triumph, of one girl with the drive to succeed defying the odds and following her dream. It's not an original tale -- movies like this abound -- but Nava's point-of-... Full Review

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

Selena Quintanilla Perez's life was too short to fill a screen bio with traditional dramatic components, yet Selena infectiously salutes the Tejano singer who had a rapturous fan base when she was sla...

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Selena succeeds, through Lopez's performance, in evoking the magic of a sweet and talented young woman. Full Review

Felix Gonzalez Jr.
September 28, 2007
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review

Jennifer Lopez ... elevates the film immensely with her radiant and energetic performance. Full Review

Brian Webster
September 17, 2007
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide

A well-meaning but bland and shallow salute to Selena. Full Review

Don Willmott
September 14, 2007
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com

What a biography. And what a screenplay. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Facts

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    • Young Suzette: Selena, what are you doing?
    • Young Selena: I'm looking up at the moon. And I'm dreaming.
    • Selena Quintanilla: Don't go to Corpus, go the other way!
    • Chris Perez: Where we wanna go, Alaska?
    • Selena Quintanilla: Anywhere but Corpus?
    • Abie Quintanilla: So much for my bustier.
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  • which actress starred in all three of these movies? Maid in Manhattan, Enough, and Selena   Answer »
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