Pedro Almodovar puts the "cock" in cockpit with I'M SO EXCITED!

   

            The majority of the film takes place on a transatlantic flight going from Spain to Mexico. Due to technical failure, the airplane is flying in circles in La Mancha, Spain, and as the plane moves on a course without a destination, so does the episodic plot of I’m So Excited! Spanish Filmmaker, Pedro Almodovar, is an international treasure that isn’t afraid to push queer cinema to the peak of jaw-dropping and campy flavor. His insights behind the kitschy quirks of the gay community, women and theatrics are like a breath of fresh air. When so many filmmakers concern themselves with bringing homosexuality into the political limelight or as the victims of repression, Almodovar creates individuals, who so happen to be gay, transgender or sexually promiscuous. There is neither judgment nor holding back hedonistic pleasures.

            I’m So Excited! is a raunchy comedy in which the flight crew drugs the coach passengers with sedatives and consort and deal with the business class, a handful of prickly and bizarre characters that represent the entitled upper class of Spanish society. The stars of the film, and the funniest elements, are the gay flight attendants who indulge in an endless string of booze, drugs, sex and gossip. The gay trio, played by Javier Camarra (Almodovar regular), Raul Arevalo and Carlos Areces, makes up the film’s comedic highlight. They are aware that the plane could crash, and similar to the medical unit in Robert Altman’s MASH, they act in a relentless hysteria to block the idea of death.

            Unfortunately, the best scene in the film can be seen in the trailer; the flight attendants, drugged on a heavy dose of mescaline, perform a flamboyant and slapstick dance number to the Pointer Sisters “I’m So Excited”, and once it’s over, well, it’s back to a lagging plot and kinky dialogue exchange that never tops that single scene of spontaneous musical combustion. Pedro Almodovar is going back to his sexual comedic roots of the 80’s, such as Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and the hilarious, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, but in I’m So Excited!, the separate storylines hardly converge, creating a bumpy and uneven 90 minutes, with characters that aren’t fully fleshed out. When the story tries to blend character and relationship struggles, along with themes relating to repressed homosexuality, Almodovar teeters from the ridiculous to the serious, unable to grasp a coherent tone.

       The look of the film, particularly the set of the airplane, has a charming and colorful stage-quality. A hodgepodge of bright colors—such as red, light blue and pink—gives the film a European, pop-art essence. This time around, the camera is  static; the editing and camera movements are minimal, which emphasizes the dialogue and abrupt sexual encounters (typical Almodovar). However, the sexual content doesn’t seem as shocking or outlandish as his previous efforts.

             The manic concept behind I’m So Excited! has excellent potential for a more John Water-ish trash-type of cinema. Too bad filmmakers would have trouble getting distribution for a throwback midnight movie from the 70’s.  I’m So Excited! is an original and flavorful creation, but the laughs are far and few between. Pedro Almodovar is a one-of-a-kind filmmaker, but in the new millennium, his dramatic pieces resonate deeper than his comedies. 

**1/2 (out of four stars)

New on DVD and Blue-Ray: SPRING BREAKERS

Spring Breakers

Written and Directed by Harmony Korine

USA, 2013.

If a message lingers beneath the kaleidoscopic surface of the film’s candy-coated visuals, it’s that our new young generation—obsessed with reality trash TV, sexual deviance without consequences, and rap music that glorifies drug use—is falling into an endless pit of superficial, pop-culture garbage. Filmmaker Harmony Korine, better known as the writer of Kids—a breakout film about sexual experimentation and the spread of HIV—has written and directed a film about smart college girls doing dumb things to fit in with the privileged “it” crowd. There’s a lot to admire about Spring Breakers; Harmony Korine is one of the few artist to capture our youth’s degradation, which may or may not have to do with media influences.

            The film is about four college girls, ironically played by “tweenie” idols, who decide to rob a diner to fund their spring break trip to South Florida. Eventually, they end up in jail (realities that rap artist don’t talk about) and get bonded out by an eccentric drug dealer, Alien, played to weird perfection by James Franco.

Scene after scene, the camera shows girls pouring liquor between their unnaturally large breasts and hunk men licking it off their body.  The scenes that capture spring breakers gone wild is not meant to be a realistic portrait, but more of a commentary on how our media glorifies a party lifestyle; and since these characters are suckers for anything that feels good and looks good, then spring break is a dream come true. Sure, we want our parents to know where we’re going, but what we’re doing—kinky sex, heavy drugs and armed robbery—those dark habits are left with the pink elephant in the room.

When the girls fall under the spell of Alien, we realize they aren't victims of a con artist, but instead, they’re truly infatuated with the seedy, “gangsta” lifestyle. James Franco steals the show and exudes a one-of-kind personality. Franco’s Alien is funnier and more bizarre than his stoner pot dealer in Pineapple Express. These characters are distasteful and ultimately, one-dimensional, but that’s Harmony Korine’s way of satirizing the so-called right-of-passage of spring break. These girls live in a world where they feel entitled to an endless string of hedonistic pleasures.  They push themselves until they suffer violent consequences. How far is enough? Never underestimate today’s youthful culture. We’re white, we’re privileged, and we’re ready to play until the wheels fall off.

The cinematography is eye-popping; Harmony Korine creates a vivid color wheel of pop-like images, which greatly contrast from the dark tone of the film. However the look, the story gets very redundant. For example, there are too many scenes of the girls frolicking around in bikinis, holding automatic weapons, for no other point but to stretch the length. Once an idea is expressed, the narrative should move forward, but in Spring Breakers, we’re bombarded by the same images over and over. The first half presents a fascinating, bold and sickly funny satire, but towards the end, the tone gets dull and icky.

**1/2 (out of four stars)