TV REVIEWS : ‘Spic-O-Rama’ a Delight to Watch

“This Latin family is not representative of all Latin families. It is a unique and individual case. If your family is like this one, please seek professional help.”

So says the mock warning at the beginning of “Spic-O-Rama,” John Leguizamo’s HBO special premiering tonight at 10.

The family is the Gigantes, a gigantically dysfunctional group that lives in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, N.Y. Leguizamo plays all five characters--the parents and three brothers who make up the family: Miggy, Leguizamo’s 9-year-old, geeky alter ego; Krazy Willie, the Desert Storm vet whose macho antics are crudely funny; Raffi, the wanna-be actor who wants to be white; Gladyz, the sharp-mouthed mother; and Felix, the boozing, philandering father.

The hourlong show was taped before a live audience in New York, where Leguizamo’s stage version had a successful Off-Broadway run last year. It almost works better on TV, tightening the clunky transitions that slowed down the stage show.

But either way, Leguizamo is a delight to watch. Following up on his first solo stage show, “Mambo Mouth” (also an HBO special), “Spic-O-Rama” is a showcase for Leguizamo’s comedic talent. And make no mistake, this is comedy, not performance art, which is how Leguizamo’s work has sometimes been labeled. While he touches on issues such as ethnic and sexual identity, they are superficial passing references that serve simply to set up the next joke.

Some people don’t think they’re funny. A few critics have blasted Leguizamo for reinforcing stereotypes, and many of the people who could afford to pay $30 to see his stage show were probably laughing at him, not with him.

Is there anything empowering about being able to get on a stage or appear before a national TV audience and call yourself a spic? It’s a raging cultural debate. Leguizamo maintains that his characters are not stereotypes and that his act is integral to cultural survival. If you asked Miggy, he’d say he’s “Spic-tacular,” his critics are “de-Spic-able.”