El Cantante, which traces the life of salsa singer Hector Lavoe, is so slavish to the musical biopic formula that you almost expect Ray Charles or Johnny Cash – as played by Jamie Foxx and Joaquin Phoenix – to pop up in the background. Jennifer Lopez, as Lavoe’s wife, and her husband Marc Anthony (a black hole as Lavoe) put their star power behind the project, but rather than give us any idea of the man and his talent, their movie instead marches down the familiar biopic path. You’d learn almost as much about Lavoe if you watched Walk the Line or Ray.
