For Reel

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Almodóvar’s follow-up to his macabre masterpiece The Skin I Live In is–what else?–a disaster movie sex farce. Such flamboyance is more expected of the Spanish auteur than the disturbing psychosexual thriller that preceded it, however the film registers as a minor palette cleanser before he hopefully returns to headier material. Set almost entirely on a plane, I’m So Excited! illustrates the hijinks that ensue on Peninsula Flight 2549 (flying from Madrid to Mexico City) when those aboard learn the grim reality that a technical malfunction prohibits their ability to land. Almodóvar takes considerable interest in class politics–there are a handful of mentions of banking scandals, and all of economy class is drugged during the venture, limiting the awake passengers to the six in business class–however the debauchery mostly serves to argue for the essential value of hedonism in living a fulfilling life (with the doomed plane serving as a metaphor for mortality). The colorful set and costumes are well-accomplished, with the cheeriness serving as a nice contrast to the dire circumstances and the increasing sense of claustrophobia. A cabaret rendition of the titular Pointer Sisters song is the highlight.