Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

blanche-2 "I'm So Excited!" from 2013 is not Almodovar's best effort - it's as raunchy as it gets, and it seems like it's on the light side for him. It really isn't, if you understand Spanish politics.The plot concerns a flight from Madrid to Mexico with an economy class that's been drugged so they'll sleep through the flight and won't become restless, and a first class with just a few people in it. Those people consist of a dominatrix, a virgin psychic, a man escaping from bank fraud, an actor, a couple on their honeymoon, and a man who describes himself as being in the security business. They are attended to by three gay male flight attendants who at one point lypsync and dance to "I'm So Excited." They also pass out Valenciana cocktails with mescalin in them.It seems that the plane might not land - there's a problem with the landing gear and the pilot is frantically seeking an airport where he can make an emergency landing. Someone described this as a gay Airplane! and I suppose in a way it is. Almodovar I think was saying that the economy class (i.e., the poor) are kept unaware of circumstances. The wealthy people in first class are awake and, if not in control, at least they know what's going on.If you're not a fan of Almodovar, you will undoubtedly hate this. I liked it - I'm not one for raunchy, sexual humor -- but because I like Almodovar and his quirkiness, I put up with it. I have to say the guys' rendition of "I'm So Excited" was hilarious - I watched it a couple of times. Also, Miguel Angel Silvestre, one of my favorite actors, plays one of the honeymooners. Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz have cameos.Almodovar isn't for everyone, but he's an intelligent director with an offbeat sense of humor. If you're unfamiliar with him, I recommend you start with "Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" or "All About My Mother," or the wonderful "Volver."

geocaplan-883-878434 The film's narrative is such a perfect metaphor for it's function that it achieves a kind of meta-brilliance, but there is not a shred of pleasure or purpose to be had along the way: The cast (that is the passengers) are trapped in an enterprise by a technical malfunction resulting in no one ever going anywhere. Whatever critique of Spanish cultural or political life some may feel this film attempts in its set-up is never realized, and in fact, is abandoned very early on. THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE this is not, by a very, very long shot. Almodóvar fell off a cliff several years ago and has now, finally, hit bottom.

Lee Eisenberg "Los amantes pasajeros" ("I'm So Excited!" in English) is more lighthearted than most of Pedro Almodóvar's movies but still has a lot of clever stuff. The people trapped in an airplane who get forced to learn each other's life stories comes across as an allegory for Spain's current state of affairs: amid the economic slump, the government keeps opting for more austerity, which is sure to exacerbate the problem.The most interesting characters are the gay stewards, but the tart-tongued Norma (Cecilia Roth) has her own things to offer. It's not exactly a black comedy; it's got the same sort of humor that parts of "Broken Embraces" have. I found it to be a good movie, as I have every Almodóvar movie. When I stayed with a family in Spain, I was surprised to learn that the host mom didn't like "All About My Mother".As I once said, had Almodóvar ever cast Spanish horror star Paul Naschy, the movie probably would've been about a werewolf in a damaged relationship.

zetes The good news: there need never be another argument about which film is Pedro Almodovar's worst. The bad news: this is abominably awful. My guess is that Almodovar just wanted to make a fun comic trifle, and more power to him. Unfortunately, the result is just so friggin' lame. Barely a single laugh to be had and so vapid it hurts. Hey, at least it still looks like an Almodovar film. A bunch of people in the business class of an airplane discover that their landing gear is severely damaged, so they decide to party it out with the crew. The English language title is a reference to the popular song, which plays during the film's most amusing sequence. The original, Spanish title is "The Passenger Lovers" because, during the climactic sequence, everyone screws. There are a bunch of plot lines and all of them feel unfinished - I was assuming I had gotten an edited version (with all the gay stuff, I thought maybe the American distributors cut down some stuff for an R rating), but, no. I'd say at least it's short, but these 90 minutes are interminable.