Schwule Mütter ohne Nerven

Reinas / Queens / or "Schwule Mütter ohne Nerven" as the German titles was - is a amazing funny movie about the first official Spanish gay marriage.

Not the tree different gay couples playing the main part - no, its the story about their mothers played by the grand dames of the Spanish cinema.

Its a romantic comedy, wonderful filmed. Some events say: 4 hours before. So we see again a event a second time but from another angle. The movie / story is like a small puzzle and come's on the end to a whole thing (the marriage). I would say it's interesting made.

Yes, its funny, a lot humor, but the acting is never overacted! Very good I found was Unax Ugalde (the blond haired guy) who's really talented actor.

Manuel Gómez Pereira was one of the finest Spanish directors in the 90's, with such comedies as "Boca a Boca" or "El Amor Perjudica Seriamente la Salud". His latest projects, however, tanked ("Off Key" was a failure both economically and artistically) or simply didn't deliver ("Cosas que Hacen que la Vida Valga la Pena" was plain and average).

"Reinas" is Pereira's return to top form, with a clever and engaging plot which uses the celebration of the first gay wedding in Spain as a macguffin to tell the story of six gay men who are about to marry and their parents, especially their mothers. The film avoids clichés in an intelligent way, so the gay sons are portrayed as people from different social strata and conditions. The actors also avoid the affected mannerisms with which gays are often portrayed in cinema. Special mention to Gustavo Salmerón in a fine performance, although the rest are also very good.

However, the film belongs to the mothers. They are in fact the "queens" the title refers to. Pereira has been lucky enough to assemble a bunch of our greatest actresses: Carmen Maura, Marisa Paredes, Mercedes Sampietro and Verónica Forqué. Betiana Blum, an unknown Argentinean actress, is, however, the standout with her over-the-top character, Ofelia.

The story is very nice plot-wise and treats gay love stories in the same way it treats straight love stories. The screenplay manages a few laughs from the audience, and it is so action-packed that you never loose your attention from the film. The only flaw I can find is that it ends so abruptly that some of the story lines are left unexplained and some character arcs end up being implausible.

In any case, I found the film highly satisfying and very entertaining, so if you like spending two hours with a good comedy you won't feel disappointed.

Overall rating: 8/10

I saw this movie in Spain last month and think it is one of the more clever gay themed films I have seen in a while. Contrasting it with most of the U.S. gay films, it lacked the superfluous drug and sex clichés that those filmmakers seem to the think the gay audience demands. It didn't fall prey to the trite and camp that makes the genre so formulaic in this country, and will probably plague the English "remake" should there be one. More impressive, though, was that I think I was one of 6 gay people in an audience of about 100..this in a country that less than 40 years ago was suffocating under Franco's regime of control and censorship. Here is hoping one day that happens here!

Director Manuel Gómez Pereira has long been respected both in Spain and around the world for his edgy, hilarious, clever and wildly entertaining films. Writing with Yolanda García Serrano he has hit the mark with REINAS ('Queens') not only in taking on controversial subject matter and creating a successful comedy out of politically dangerous topic, but he has also done so by avoiding the usual pitfalls of gay stereotypes, making the focus of this film about Spain's approval of gay marriages not on the men involved, but instead on their mothers - the real Queens.

The story is fairly straightforward (if you will): there is to be a group wedding of gay couples in which three of the couples involved have frantic problems with their mothers' attending. Some of the mothers approve, others despair, others take advantage of the situation to meet their own needs. The effect of these 'double mothers-in-law' on the six men involved is packed with surprises, secrets, bizarre behavior, confessions, manifestations of life patterns less than reputable, and whirling dervish spins on acceptance.

The mothers are portrayed by some of the finest actresses in Spanish cinema: Marisa Paredes portrays Reyes, a famous actress (hysterically identified as Carmen Maura) whose class refuses to accept the cat that her son is marrying her gardener's son; Carmen Maura (yes) plays Magda, the owner of a new hotel chain catering to gays; Verónica Forqué is Nuria, a sex addicted nymphomaniac whose drives don't prevent her form bringing her lusts home to her family; Mercedes Sampietro plays Judge Helena who barely tolerates the effect of a public wedding of her son on her career but ends up being forced to perform the ceremony; and Argentine actress Betiana Blum is Ofelia, a restaurant owner/worker who arrives form Buenos Aires for the wedding with her runabout dog causing antics that threaten her son's relationship. The sons are played to perfection and without the slightest bit of stereotypical behavior we usually encounter in these films by six excellent actors: Gustavo Salmerón, Unax Ugalde, Hugo Silva, Daniel Hendler, Paco León, and Raúl Jiménez.

Manuel Gómez Pereira makes fine use of flashbacks and flash-forwards that enhance the breakneck speed the story needs. There is enough tenderness on the part of every actor to offset the near-slapstick comedy scenes, and in the end the movie leaves the audience with a true sense of celebration - not only for the characters involved in the story but also with the forward movement of human rights in Spain. This is a highly entertaining, polished, classy film that deserves a very wide audience. Grady Harp, September 06

I loved this movie.

The production values, acting, and directing are all first-rate. Unlike too many gay-themed movies, this was clearly expertly made.

The pace is fast and the mood light. The humor is absolutely hilarious. I don't think I stopped smiling, and there were a few times I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my seat. It was an absolute riot.

This is a great movie for gay and straight audiences alike. It's an even better film for families to see. The movie is all about guys getting married and their crazy (but believable) mothers. No matter what your mom was like, one of these mothers will probably remind you of yours. There's just so much great family humor that everyone would anyone would enjoy.

Highly recommended.