Frameline Film Fest: Queens June 25, 2006

Queens
Reinas

Fans of Pedro Almodóvar will delight in this queer screwball comedy about a mass public wedding staged to celebrate Spain’s legalization of same-sex marriage. The handsome grooms-to-be include Rafa, the pampered son of a famous actress, who’s marrying Jona’s, the son of his mother’s gardener; Óscar, an Argentinian massage therapist whose meddlesome mama might just send his fussy boyfriend, Miguel, packing; and Hugo and Narciso, whose pre-wedding jitters bring out a burst of eleventh-hour infidelity.

But the real queens here are the mothers of the grooms, who all have dramas of their own. Director Manuel Gómez Pereira has brought together the reinas of Spanish cinema, many of them familiar faces from the films of Almodóvar. Verónica Forqué (Kika) is Narciso’s nymphomaniac mother, whose penchant for anonymous sex in unlikely places knows no bounds. Carmen Maura (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) is the hotelier hosting the reception, hiding the fact that her own marriage has hit a dead end. Marisa Paredes (All About My Mother) is the actress unsure whether she loves or hates her gardener. Mercedes Sampietro is a judge who officiates at heterosexual weddings but has notably scheduled an out-of-town vacation during her son’s. Argentinian actress Betiana Blum nearly steals the show as Óscar’s mother, who arrives from Buenos Aires —bringing an enormous shaggy dog —and announces her intention to stay indefinitely. When the pooch takes an instant disliking to Óscar’s husband-to-be, the hilarity kicks into high gear.

—K.M. SOEHNLEIN

QUEENS dir Manuel Gómez Pereira 2005 Spain 107 min in Spanish with English subtitles

This program is sponsored by Dockers Brand.

Official Website: http://www.frameline.org/festival/30th/filmsevents.html