Novios (1999) Poster

(1999)

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6/10
Acceptable comedy in typical Spanish style ; plenty of humor , twists and silly situations
ma-cortes3 May 2015
Funny yarn full of laughs , entertainment , amusement and ridiculous happenings . This is a special Spanish comedy from the 2000s that contains the usual ingredients such as charming humor topped with a little bit of original touches here and there , though the tone of the film is light-hearted . It deals with Arturo (Juanjo Puigcorbe) , a successful restaurateur , he's married to Paz (Maria Barranco) and have a mental-dimmed son named Arturito (Juan Diego Botto) . Meanwhile , Arturo having an affair with his helper Cristal (Candela Peña) who works in his restaurant . All of them become involved into twisted as well as silly relationships , jealousy and betrayals . Cristal attempt to be a bridegroom and marry Arturo , but her plans fall short . As Cristal seduces Arturo's son , Arturito , in all senses . Not long after , at a party , Arturo declares marriage engagement to Cristal and the events go wrong .

It is a crazy Spanish comedy that offers no intellectual stimulus whatsoever , though it has some fun and hilarious moments . Humor is sometimes cheesy and gross-out with numerous naughty and picaresque situations such as sex jokes , adulteries , jealousy , and erotic scenes as a long love scene between Juanjo Puigcorbe and Maria Barranco . Packed with scenes of absurd nature , this story is an enjoyable farce, as we follow the nutty exploits of a restaurateur , his lover , wife and son . The plot is almost ridiculous and embarrassment but has its sympathetic moments here and there . This agreeable film packs amusement , slapdash , comical situations , tongue-in-cheek , silly comedy including conventional pitfalls and many other things . Sitting in a strange middle ground between the completely absurd and the stylishly cool . Sympathetic performances from main cast such as Juanjo Puigcorbe as philander husband , Candela Peña as young who starts dreaming of life as a housewife at whatever cost , Maria Barranco as sex-hungry spouse and Juan Diego as naive boy . Support cast is pretty well as Pepo Oliva , Francisco Boira and Karra Erejalde . Spotless pictorial cinematography by Hans Burmann who has photographed great hits such as ¨Open your eyes¨, ¨Tesis¨, ¨Amnesia¨, ¨Guantanamera¨ , ¨The Education of Fairies¨, among others .

The motion picture was professionally directed by Joaquin Oristrell . He is married to actress Carmen Balagué and is considered to be a good writer and filmmaker . Joaquin has directed as well as written nice films . Oristell is expert on filming comedies (Dieta Mediterranea , unconscious , Sin Verguenza , ? De Que Rien Las Mujeres ¿) but being most famous as an original writer (Love causes seriously damage your health , Off Key , Between your legs , Extasis). The flick will appeal to Spanish cinema fonds . Rating : 5,5/10 . Passable and entertaining.
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8/10
What an uplifting, feel-good, hilarious, and intelligent farce
GMeleJr29 April 2000
Wow! Right after you think you have seen every possible reworking of the modern, intelligent yet hilarious Spanish sex farce, NOVIOS comes out of nowhere! That is, at least for us in the US. What a pity this superb piece of film making with the latest technical enhancements, and excellent English subtitles (obviously for UK audiences)never gets released here beyond a few festivals. No wonder ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER gets such attention! As deserved as that attention is, Almodovar's competition at home is fierce. NOVIOS features former two Almodovar leads (from WOMEN ON THE VERGE... and ALL ABOUT...), as well as veteran male leading men, and in particular, young Argentine born, Spanish heart throb Juan Diego Botto (MARTIN H with Cecilia Roth, and IN THE ARMS OF OLDER WOMEN with Faye Dunaway). And that's just four of the leads, and all at their peak. The across the board excellent performances, highly intelligent social satire of Spanish and European social customs at the turn of the century, beautiful, colorful cinematography, with a tremendous soundtrack of Spanish and Latin romantic music used to great effect, all contribute to make this a comedy that will blow you away in laughter, and high humor. This highlight of the 2000 Hispanic Film Festival was somewhat foreseen, as it was originally scheduled for ten different performances on two different days. However, it is surpassing the other Juan Diego Botto love and sex farce "I Will Survive" with Emma Suarez, another fabulous modern comedy, in popularity. This is no small feat since "I Will Survive" is also brilliant, and the two are against another dozen critically and popularly acclaimed Spanish comedies presented this year. My recommendation may come too late for Florida movie buffs, but festival lovers in North America, and foreign cinema buffs in Europe, en garde! Keep your eyes out for NOVIOS, and don't miss this gem.
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