European Films

Have you ever wondered what a blatantly commercial comedy directed -- though not necessarily written -- by Pedro Almodóvar would be like? Probably something like Reinas (Queens),  which, fortunately for us, is not the proof of Almodóvar’s surrender to the mainstream, but instead a slick comedy with a colourful gay sensibility from screenwriters Joaquin Oristrell and Yolanda García Serrano and writer-director Manuel Gómez Pereira (the same trio that was responsible for Entre las piernas (Between Your Legs) with Javier Bardem and Victoria Abril). As with most great comedies, and especially Spanish ones, it is mainly about one subject: sex -- in all its Freudian permutations.

The title characters of Queens are many, as the film’s large ensemble cast consists of soon-to-be-wed gay couples and their mothers. As per cliché and convention, it is often not clear which of these two categories is more nervous about the upcoming Big Day, though it can safely be said that Reinas makes sure both get their fair share of comedic jitters.

Three of the mothers are chicas Almodóvar: Marisa Paredes (Todo sobre mi madre / All About My Mother), Verónica Forqué (Kika) and Carmen Maura (Volver), and the fact that they are all strong women in a film about their homosexual sons makes the presence of Almodóvar’s spirit palpable (of course, there are also a direct jab and several more clever references to the director’s work in the film, all in good taste though not exactly surprising). What is noteworthy is that these regal queens are portrayed here as sexy mothers, despite being born in 1945 (Maura), 1946 (Paredes), 1947 (co-star Mercedes Sampietro) and 1955 (Forqué), which makes their combined age enough to go back to the time when Jane Austen was born. A lot of things have changed since then! 

To move further into the mainstream and overcome the "of gay interest only" obstacle, the film portrays heterosexual- as well as homosexual relationships to create one colourful anysexual romp, much like the French crowd pleaser Crustacés et Coquillages (Cockles and Muscles / Côte d’Azûr) did last year. Reinas approaches homo- and heterosexuals with equal reverence: everyone is a cheating, lying, oversexed and undersatisfied being that just want one thing: have more sex (and be loved, perhaps).

First among equals is Nuria (Forqué), a nymphomanic who expresses regret to her handsome therapist over the phone every time she has added another conquest to her list. Her son Narciso (Paco León) divides his time between Brussels and Madrid and dreams of a career in politics, his future groom is the unsure Hugo (Gustavo Salmerón), whose mother (Mercedes Sampietro) works in legal affairs. In Madrid, they stay in a hotel set up specifically for a gay clientele, which is run by workaholic mother Magda (Carmen Maura). Her son Miguel (Unax Ugalde, who delivers some priceless reaction shots) will be married to Argentinean immigrant Óscar (Uruguayan actor Daniel Hendler), who has invited his own mother (Argentinian actress Betiana Blum) over for the Big Day, though not necessarily her dog. There is also the cute couple Rafa (Raúl Jiménez) and Jonás (Hugo Silva), who met because Jonás’s gardener father (Lluis Homar) works for Rafa’s actress mother Reyes (Marisa Paredes). Needless to say the actress is less than amused to marry off her own son to the son of her servant. 

Some of the film’s most hilarious sequences occur during pre-wedding dinners: Marisa Paredes’s character tries to uncover the lack of finesse of her future in-laws by ordering sushi and putting only chopsticks on the table;  Unax Ugalde’s clear irritation over the fact that his future mother-in-law and her dog are staying in his chic apparent leads to her pronouncing the single best one-liner about how lovely their dinner together is and Forqué’s nymphomanic has an unpleasant meeting with an ex-conquest during a dinner for which her son has not arrived yet, but her family-in-law has. Let me just say here that it is a good thing that the future father-in-law of her son (Tito Valverde) is a police officer.

Reinas is also a perfect example of the "mainstreamification" of the treatment of gay male topics in comedies, which is an enormous difference with the subversive ultra-niche gay comedies of Almodóvar’s early years; a positive side-effect that can be at least partly credited to Almodóvar’s talents and subsequent success. The men in Reinas are first and foremost exactly that: men. (Almodóvar would probably find that they lacked hang-ups and interesting faces, but such is the price of commercial cinema.)

The men’s sexuality is a necessary plot device to justify the uniqueness of the mass wedding at the end -- and even then the wedding bash is so low key that it barely registers; most heterosexuals throw more outrageous parties when they tie the knot. Similarly, a pre-wedding party with some on-stage dancing fails to generate much heat (and the latter also lacks a clear raison d’être other than showing people dancing). Despite these shortcomings, Reinas is definitely worth a look for anyone looking for a perfectly hilarious and well-crafted comedy about the sexual beings that we are and the liberties that we acquired to prove it.

Buy the DVD at dvdGO.es. 

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