I’m So Excited (2013)
Certified: 18
Duration: 90 minutes
Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Javier Cámara, Cecilia Roth, Lola Dueñas, Raúl Arévalo, Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Hugo Silva, Miguel Ángel Silvestre
KRS release

Pedro Almodóvar, Spain’s most notorious and enfant terrible of directors, has delivered a comedy that is unusual to say the least.

It’s a glorification of the kitsch style he had adopted in his early movies, but without the surrealism that has dominated all his films.

The stylish romp is silly to an extreme in its premise and yet totally in line with Almodóvar’s campy attitude.

The film starts off with cameos by Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas – both favourites of the director – who provide the impetus for what follows and launch the film in an over-the-top fashion.

Then the focus turns on to a flight from Spain to Mexico, where Almodóvar pushes his brand of comedy, social commentary and farce.

The pilot’s cabin and the first- class area are under the care of three gay stewards and everything seems veritably happy. We find out that one of the stewards has been the lover of the married pilot for quite some time.

The first-class passengers include a medium who is still a virgin (Lola Duenas) and an entrepreneur who runs an escort business (Cecilia Roth). All are destined to add to the bizarreness of the situation.

Due to a technical fault, the pilot cannot bring down the landing gear and so the plane has to keep circling. Meanwhile, the stewards try to keep everyone entertained as much as possible. It is here that the characters start revealing their personal lives and, like all of Almodóvar’s characters, they are given the chance to come out of the experience as better people.

The film gives Almodóvar the chance to present his brand of social commentary. For him the plane and how it is divided symbolises Spain and the way common people are treated. Just take a look at how the people in the economy section are dealt with to catch my drift.

He explores his usual themes of sex and death with a touch of the burlesque through the clients of the business class.

The director from Madrid is not really doing anything new here. But he never lets the film descend into the delightful chaos of his early films.

The film’s title is taken from the song by The Pointer Sisters to which the stewards dance to keep the business-class passengers entertained.

One will have to see if for Almodóvar this is a permanent return to this style or simply a slight detour away from the much more serious movie-making style he has adopted of late.

This mix of campy melodrama, inventive kitsch and a light touch of sensibility will surely make Almodóvar fans nod in appreciation as the director seems to return to his roots.