I'm So Excited (15)

Directed by Pedro Almodovar
FACT Liverpool
Released on 3rd May 2013

Reviewed by Joe Coventry

Chock Horror

A cock-up between baggage handlers and ground crew preparing for take-off is the springboard for this lightweight but enjoyable romp from a director not amiss in pushing the boundaries of the imagination.

The landing gear is jammed and a scheduled flight to Mexico becomes the vehicle for a deranged comedy circling Spanish airspace. What can cabin crew do to prevent panic amongst the unsuspecting passengers? Well for most, the solution is mind numbing, but for the lucky 1% in Business Class the remedy forms the basis of the film.

Almodovar's licence being what it is, the crew are flighty, scatty, temperamental and mostly gay. The sitcom scenario is played out in the short time to what might be impending doom, virgin psychic Bruna (Duenas) senses the worst, so it's obvious what everyone who can gets up to, before the plane must jettison it's own hot and flammable liquid.

On board with her are a honeymoon couple, on the run banker, hired assassin, an ordinary bloke with a bit of stuff on the side and S&M dominatrix Norma Boss (Roth), who has the dirty on the rich and famous, right up to the very top. These are ranged against the camp histrionics of the 'smoking' drugs, drink or religiously sozzled male stewards Josera (Camara), Fages (Aretes) and Ulloa (Avelaro), who carry the day. Captain Alex Acero (de la Torre) tries to steer a level course through the mayhem when not enjoying his lunch break as the cockpit is turned into a tapas bar.

It's all funny and engaging stuff, gagging on its own juices. Beautifully shot in vibrant colours you will never find a flight like this, not even in the '10 Mile High Club'. With a nod to the Carry On films, but with more balls in the air, the Pointer Sisters sing the title song to an outrageous camp dance routine, before the intercom crackles into life. By now each passenger in Business Class has worn their hearts on their sleeves and told the world via the plane's intercom of the precarious position they are in. The eerily empty La Mancha airport now awaits and the sound effects bring everything back into perspective. Was it all a bad trip?

Coming out into the bright sunshine of the economically ravished and economically oppressed world of the 99%, it's fair to say that the crash landing here will be much worse.

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