If you see MAMMA MIA the movie; you should remember how bad singers and dancers were the main actors. The movie succeeded because of the fine integration of songs, history and views.
Something similar happens with this one. While Ingrid García Jonsson can dance but not so much sing Veronica Echegui can sing but is far from a dancer; however the catchy songs and some good acting make the thing works.
As HAIRSPRAY use the black/white integrations in the 1960s as a background to the story; My Heart goes Boom uses the last year of Franco's government and the fight to end censorship in Spain in 1973.
Other than that is basically a love story resolved quite fast and simple and with some simple dance numbers and songs.
In brief; is not on the level of Hairspray but is entertaining and the music is catchy.
5.7Keywords: musical1970slgbt interestmusical comedy
Plot summary
In 1973, after leaving her boyfriend Massimiliano at the altar in Rome, María decides to make a new start taking a return flight to Spain. An orphan without family, money, or resources, at her arrival to the Aiport of Barajas in the City of Madrid, María meets Amparo, a funny, loudmouthed, vivacious, free-spirited woman who works as a flight attendant. Three months later María is living with Amparo, also working as a flight attendant in Barajas, when she meets again Pablo, now looking for a lost suitcase. After he gives her his work address, the suitcase is found and María takes it to return to Pablo, surprised to learn that he works in TVE (Televisión Española, a Spanish TV channel back then). There she meets Chimo, a womanizing producer determined to turn María into a star as one of the dancers in the famous late show "Las Noches de Rosa." Returning to her work at the airport, at the last moment she meets Pablo and gives him his suitcase and her phone number, which leads to a double date with Amparo and Lucas. When Chimo locates María, he convinces her to participate in the show. However, troubles appear by three: Rosa mistrusts María and places her as a possible substitute in case one of the other dancers is absent, and Pablo's father Celedonio is TVE's censor, an old-fashioned man stuck in the early days of Franco's dictatorship, who rejects any kind of modernity and freedom in TV and who wants to fire Chimo. Unfamiliar with the Francoist Regime and its repressive laws, María tries to adjust to it, although she thinks it's outdated. Then Massimiliano appears in Madrid looking for María, trying to win her back. While Amparo's relationship with Lucas sours, María's dream of making her first appearance on TV is shattered after seeing she's been considerably censored. Taking revenge on Pablo after knowing about his relationship with María, Chimo shows her the censor's office, where she discovers that Pablo is Celedonio's son and will be the new censor when his father retires--but it was Pablo himself who actually censored her, on his father's advice. With their relationship in danger, Massimiliano finds and reunites with María, who feels confused about her feelings for Pablo. At the same time, Celedonio forces TVE's staff to choose his son as new censor, betraying Pablo when Celedonio imposes the condition to continue working as a counselor for his son. With the incoming New Year's Eve Special, which will also be the first Special to be broadcast live, María and Pablo are trapped at crossroads: he's between following his father's way or his own; she weighs going back to Rome with Massimiliano against following her dreams of dance and freedom.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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Movie Reviews
Rafaella Carra songs in Spanish and lot of dancing
An utter disappointment
With such rich material that this film has to call upon- Spain in a heavily censored Franco era; the kitsch glory of Rafael Cara's music, fashion and architecture of the 1970's, this film recklessly rides rough through all, and we gain little pleasure in either a visual or text narrative.
The censorship storyline could be fascinating- but Franco's Spain is not explained. There is no context- or no comparison made between what people saw in the rest of Europe. "Hilda" the Rita Hayworth film, where she removes her gloves was considered too racy in Spain, and was censored. Instead, we see an old man, measuring skirts, and wielding scissors- but no explanation as to why he might be so important in a tv studio. And it's just slapstick- resulting in live Janet Jackson "nipplegate" moment, being broadcast on "nochebuena".
Rafaela's fun music is treated to a bunch of truly average dance routines- in planes, on boats, in telephone boxes. Ms Cara's dance ability is outstanding, and I am sure there are great dancers in Spain. But clearly they were all busy that day. Her dance is sexy and raunchy but performed within a vocabulary of 70's disco. Why they choose to make a pastiche of that "pulp fiction/ Saturday night fever moves" instead of exploring or referencing some of the crazy moves that existed in late 70's Spain?
And the design. Well, yes, it's bright and colourful. And all the anachronisms could be forgiven if it had a style. Rafaela Cara had a magnificent wardrobe- amazing catsuits. But the wardrobe department have gone to a bunch of party shops and stitched some digitally printed graphics onto some vaguely old fashioned garments. All the men seem to have a vaguely period jacket bought in Zara that someone thought looked right. The 70's, as encapsulated by Ms Cara was a spandex and sequinned sensation. It certainly wasn't all floppy collars and green eye shadow. Look at how chic "Baccara" are. This film is merely bright. No indication of social class, or background that we should see in a properly designed film. And several times the architecture and the graphics are just crass and wrong.
And I really felt no empathy with the lead character. She's neither a dancer, nor an actress. The role seems to call for a charismatic sexiness, a coquettishness of movement. This poor lead has an on button which is "cry" which she seems to do in every single scene. And somewhere she is meant to ooze a sensuality though the TV that she really lacks. Luckily, the second actress( for no narrative reason) seems to have most of the songs. At least she has an energy and vivacity!
I'm not sure why anyone would want to make an old fax paper copy of "Mama Mia", but the script writers obviously were locked in a room with that playing. It's really a tele novela of a script. A fluffy afternoon script you might vaguely watch when you are ironing. In comparison to some really well made popular cultural offerings coming from Spain- the very polished " La llamada" or "veneno" this film is a complete mess. I was so disappointed, because the source material is so rich.
Fun and enjoyable
A nice fun little musical with cute people and crazy plot.