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Puerto Rican singer Héctor Lavoe (Marc Anthony) becomes a quick star, marries loudmouth Puchi (Jennifer Lopez), does a lot of drugs and dies. To add some, um, authenticity, the movie is organized around recreated black-and-white interviews with Puchi as she reflects on her late husband.

Big question: What does "El Cantante" have that every other music-driven biopic doesn't?

Skip it: By focusing so much attention on Puchi, "El Cantante" simply tells the wrong story, though it's debatable if one's being told at all. There's nothing about how Lavoe became a supposed voice of the people, what the Latin music scene was like in America before he arrived or why he drove himself to shows even at the height of fame—just a lot of interchangeable salsa songs and Lopez delivering a performance even Fran Drescher would call annoying.

Catch it: It's not often you get to see Santa Claus—especially a popular Latin singer dressed as Santa—smoking a joint. Something tells us those holiday cookies are going to taste better than usual this year.

Bottom line: Lavoe may have been a legend who united his audience, but "El Cantante" presents him only as one of a gazillion musicians who fell prey to the lifestyle for reasons the filmmaker can't identify. Co-writer/director Leon Ichaso loads up on the bongos and trumpets, but while he's got the music for "El Cantante," he apparently forgot to write the lyrics.

Bonus: Need a defense for your tardiness? Puchi provides Héctor with a not-quite-foolproof excuse: "It's not that you were late. It's just he was always too early."

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