I'm So Excited!/Los Amantes Pasajeros (2013) - Almodóvar flees with unfavorable comedy

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A colorful, simply animated poster for Pedro Almodóvar's I'm So Excited! that spells fun and debauchery

A flight with a series of colorful characters on it and a crew that work on a mix of sleeping pills, tequila and drugs takes off but experiences problems in the air and has to embark on a risky emergency landing.

 

I'm So Excited! is written and directed by Spanish master filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (Folle... Folle... Fólleme Tim! (1978)) whose 20th feature it is. The original Spanish title translates to 'the fleeting lovers' or 'the passenger lovers'.

Almodóvar, who at this late point in his career had turned more permanently towards drama, it seemed, here presents a tequila-chucking, (the amounts one of the characters drinks is just ridiculous), lip-sync-dancing round of light doodling mid-air, as if the master attempts to transport himself back in time, back to his wacky, drug-enamored, anarchistic early pictures. The attempt is pathetic and unfunny.

It is neither risque, sexy nor fun that the stewards drink like louts, do drugs or are vulgar in today's world. At least it isn't in this film. I'm So Excited!, with its light-hearted tone, is up against a time that is not light-hearted anymore, and it loses. But it is also a horny picture, a trait that deserves salute, although this generally is a failed recess for Almodóvar.

 

Related posts:

Pedro Almodóvar: 2019 in films - according to Film Excess  

Pain and Glory/Dolor y Gloria (2019) - Almodóvar's 8½ 
The Skin I Live In/La Piel que Habito (2011) or, Almodóvar's Extreme Make-Over
Broken Embraces/Los Abrazos Rotos (2009) or, Mysteries in Love and Life

Talk to Her/Hable con Ella (2002) - Almodóvar's beautiful coma love drama 
Live Flesh/Carne Trémula (1997) or, A Spanish Fix

The Flower of My Secret/La Flor de Mi Secreto (1995) - Paredes star turn in charming Almodóvar work 

High Heels/Tacones Lejanos (1991) - Superficially worthwhile Almodóvar crime melodrama 
Labyrinth of Passion/Laberinto de Pasiones (1982) - Sexual mix-ups in screwball Madrileña style 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 5 mil. €, approximately 5.58 mil. $

Box office: 21.2 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 3.79 times its cost)

[I'm So Excited! was released 8 March (Spain) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place from July - September 2012 in Spain, including in Madrid. The film opened #33 to a 97k $ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #32 and in 99 theaters (different weeks), grossing 1.3 mil. $ (6.1 % of the total gross). The film's 3 biggest markets were Spain with 6.5 mil. $ (30.7 %), France with 3.7 mil. $ (17.5 %) and Italy with 2.4 mil. $ (11.3 %). The film was nominated for 2 European Film awards, among other honors. Almodóvar returned with Julieta (2016). Javier Cámara (Madrid, int. (2020)) returned in Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed/Vivir Es Fácil con los Ojos Cerrados (2013); Pepa Charro (Mai Neva a Ciutat (2019, TV-series)) in Esposados (2013, TV-series) and theatrically in Presentimientos (2013). I'm So Excited! is rotten at 48 % with a 5.60/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I'm So Excited!?

Talk to Her/Hable con Ella (2002) - Almodóvar's beautiful coma love drama

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+ Best Spanish Movie of the Year 

 

Two beautiful women in contrasting hues of red and blue make up this poster for Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her

Two men forge a friendship over their common predicament of having their loved ones be in a coma.

 

Talk to Her is written and directed by Spanish master filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (Folle... Folle... Fólleme Tim! (1978)), whose 15th feature it is.

It is one of Almodóvar's very finest, delving into themes of loneliness, desperation, abuse, pride and loss, while also dealing with phobias and bullfighting. It is a film of beautiful and unusual content with lovely performances, which is eminently beautifully filmed by cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (Goya's Ghosts (2006)), wonderfully scripted by Almodóvar, and heightened by a piercingly beautiful score by Alberto Iglesias (Volver (2006)).

 

Related posts:

Pedro Almodóvar: 2019 in films - according to Film Excess  

Pain and Glory/Dolor y Gloria (2019) - Almodóvar's 8½ 
The Skin I Live In/La Piel que Habito (2011) or, Almodóvar's Extreme Make-Over
Broken Embraces/Los Abrazos Rotos (2009) or, Mysteries in Love and Life

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Live Flesh/Carne Trémula (1997) or, A Spanish Fix
Labyrinth of Passion/Laberinto de Pasiones (1982) - Sexual mix-ups in screwball Madrileña style 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 64.7 mil. $

= Uncertain, but likely a huge hit

[Talk to Her was released 15 March (Spain) and runs 112 minutes. Shooting took place from July - October 2001 in Spain, including Madrid. The film opened #37 to a 104k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #22 and in 255 theaters, grossing 9.2 mil. $ (14.2 % of the total gross). North America was the film's 3rd biggest market. The 2 biggest were Spain with  The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 10.2 mil. $ (15.8 %) and France with 9.5 mil. $ (14.7 %). If made on a realistic, lavish 10 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a huge hit. It was nominated for 2 Oscars; Best Director, lost to Roman Polanski for The Pianist, and Best Original Screenplay, which it won. Spain mysteriously nominated Mondays in the Sun for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar that year over Talk to Her. The film also won a Golden Globe, 2 BAFTAs, a César award, was nominated for a David di Donatello award, won 5/7 European Film award nominations, 1/7 Goya award nominations and 2 National Board of Review awards, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Almodóvar returned with Bad Education/La Mala Educación (2004). Javier Cámara (Age of Monster/El Tiempo de los Monstruos (2015)) returned in Looking for Chencho (2002, short) and theatrically in Torremolinos 73 (2003); Darío Grandinetti (The Good Boy/Segundo Asalto (2005)) in Final Minute (2000-02) and theatrically in Ilusión de Movimiento (2003); Leonor Watling (Todas Hieren (1998)) in Desire/Deseo (2002); and Rosario Flores (Entreacte (1989)) in Hypnotized and Hysterical (Hairstylist Wanted)/Filles Perdues, Cheveux Gras (2002). Talk to Her is certified fresh at 91 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Talk to Her?