Back in 1993, I had a roommate who was a devoted Selena fan. I'd never heard of her, but over the next couple of years I heard enough of her (and about her) to get a pretty good idea of what she was about. I even went (with said roommate) to a couple of her shows (she performed often in the area) and had a good time even though I generally can't stand Tejano music and I'm not Hispanic (as most of her audience at that time was). In 1995, like a lot of people who knew who she was, I was saddened by her murder. The story of her life is extraordinarily interesting even if you don't care for her music -- unfortunately, this movie doesn't tell it particularly well. It's too formulaic (rags to riches) and is filled with some unbelievably corny dialogue. The relationship between Selena and Chris Perez (her eventual husband) doesn't come across particularly well since there's very little chemistry between Lopez and Jon Seda, who played Perez in the movie. To her credit, Jennifer Lopez does an incredible job of portraying Selena -- her resemblence (in appearance and in style) to the real Selena is eerie. But other than that, I don't think someone who watches the film without knowing anything about Selena will come away with any real understanding of why so many people were so devastated when she was murdered.
