Review of I'm So Excited! (2013) by Ray S — 04 Jul 2013

I saw Los amantes pasajeros with Rocky, Jackie and my Brother (Freddy) on Tuesday evening at the Landmark. It was my second time seeing a film there, the second time I see a Pedro Almodovar there (first being el piel que habito). Maybe the next Almodovar film I'll see, could be at the same theater. Sparking a tradition? Possibly. That would be cool. It was the first time going to the West Pavilion mall. A lot of my friends have been there before, including R & J. It's a pretty big mall. The thing that bugged me in a weird way were the placement of the escalators. They're placed in locations that I find very inconvenient, ha-ha-ha. To go to an upper level, I half to walk around rather than have the escalator going to the lower level next to each other. I'm not saying that I'm lazy or anything (despite what I just said), but it's just that I noticed how weird they're placed. I took some pictures with my Holga while I was there. I wonder how they'll come out. I think I have about 10 frames left to take. Maybe I should use some of them to take double-exposed pictures. I've accidentally took some in the first roll that I printed. All of them looked pretty crappy except one picture where one exposure included pigeons on the floor by the porch of my house and I think the second exposure was of the sky. I don't remember, I have to take a look at the print.

Los amantes pasajeros (translated in English as I'm So Excited) was freakin' hilarious throughout the film. It's so openly gay, so camp; I had no idea what I was in stored for. I did read that it's a comedy but I never thought it would be something like this. I haven't seen much from Almodovar's comedies. I've seen more of his dramas/melodramas. He doesn't hold back on how open the characters' personalities and behaviors. Their expressions are raw and at times over-dramatic, which is the point. The plot, I found, was pretty odd and basic. It was a catalyst to various subplots. Kind of weak. And unexpected, I might add. I'm used to the complexity of Almodovar's plots even though it may be surprising most of the time. Even though I found it unexpected, I didn't find it weird or anything in that sort of nature. The most complex thing about the film is the airline staff's personalities. They're fun to look at. I love the way they interact with each other. It feels very natural. Those characters are very well written because you feel-by the way they act-that they've known each other for years. Their relationships with each and sub-relationships are very complex. It makes sense to me the personal issues they have gone through and currently go through. The main plot makes little sense. I'm not going to spoil it for you. All I can say is that most of the film takes place inside an airplane that is not able to land. The characters' subplots are out in the open. One of them, I didn't buy into because I felt it was too coincidental but I did like how it was resolved by the end of the third act. Another subplot that I thought was unnecessary was between an actor and his mistress. I guess that character and subplot was written to pass the story time in the film. I mean, I like the way it was handled. It had great acting, nice blend of colors that are presented from the clothing of the characters. The one I really enjoyed was the psychic. It was so random and freakin' hilarious. The film was shot pretty well. It had balanced editing, great lighting, especially being inside an airplane (I guess he used Arri cameras). I did enjoy the film, a whole lot. I kept laughing every ten seconds or so throughout the film, except towards the most drama peaks of the film. The highlight of the film, to me, was the broadway-esque sequences where the flight attendants perform their in-flight entertainment. I loved it, I loved the film despite the flaws I eventually noticed. It does make me want to write a gay/camp film. 3/4 f-stops out of four.