Una pareja... distinta

Bemusing and agreeable story with enjoyable but also absurd moments and attractive acting by likable protagonists. An enticing but uneven Spanish dramedy film and with its ups and downs; here our eccentric protagonists, the stunning José Luis López Vázquez, and the sympathetic Lina Morgan, demonstrate their real performing skills . It deals with Zoraida (Lina Morgan) a bearded woman in a circus who is single mother with a baby and Charly (José Luis López Vázquez) who works in gay shows along with other transvestites (Emilio Laguna,José Morales). She is left without a place to live and then she goes to live with her godfather Charly. Together they will live a difficult and off-the-wall love story. However, things are going wrong because, leaving behind their interventions in circus shows and gay spectacles, they want to take normal works, but they cannot find them despite all the means they use to get jobs.

Una pareja... distinta(1974) deals with an unusual relationship between two outlandish characters. At first they have a mere concern of convenience, she is a bearded woman and he is a transvestite showman, but throughout and little by little they truly fall in love. However, established society, due to prejudices, will not accept the couple easily. A pleasant film starring the unforgettable Lina Morgan here in her first dramatic role. It's a melodrama of a bearded woman who sees herself as lonely and marginalized because she is not pretty, she's ugly but falls for a gay man masterfully played by José Luis López Vázquez . The story is made to entertain, and this movie, especially for a good time and a feeling drama with brief message, but resulting in a sad and some downbeat film. Throughout an irregular plot, and with emphasis on romance and the caricature of the protagonists, we follow the adventures of two offbeat roles nicely performed by Lina Morgan and José Luis López Vázquez, along with Ismael Merlo who plays Lina's father, in a succession of disasters and contrasts that are more or less fortunate in their slightly dramatic purposes. Here there are some nice performers and the cast , playing eccentric characters, making a cosy fit. It is a Spanish melodrama that offers no intellectual stimulus whatsoever , though it has some entertaining and sensitive moments. An uneven story with enjoyable but also absurd moments and charming acting by two likable comedians: The always excellent José Luís López Vázques who initially played comic roles , being discovered by Luis Garcia Berlanga with whom he performed fundamental movies as ¨Novio a la vista¨, ¨Placido¨, ¨El Jueves Milagro¨, ¨El Verdugo¨, ¨Patrimonio Nacional¨ trilogy and Marco Ferreri with ¨El Pisito¨. He formed an attractive film couple with Alberto Closas in ¨Usted puede ser un asesino¨, ¨Una gran señora¨, ¨La gran familia" , "La familia y uno más" , and ¨La familia bien gracias¨ and partnering with Gracita Morales, forming a popular duo in films as ¨Operacion Mata-hari¨, ¨Operación Cabaretera¨, ¨Sor Citroen¨, ¨Un vampiro para dos¨, ¨Los Palomos¨, but around the sixties he began to act in dramatic films and he came to appear in more than 200 feature films. Most of them are standard comedies signed by the prolific directors José María Forqué with ¨Atraco a las tres¨, Pedro Lazaga and Mariano Ozores, but other times they are larger works for serious directors, such as Carlos Saura with ¨Peppermint Frappe¨, ¨El jardin de las delicias¨, ¨La Prima Angelica¨, Jaime de Armiñán with his essential role in ¨Mi querida señorita¨, Manuel Gutierrez Aragón with ¨Habla Mudita¨ , Pedro Olea with two essential films of his overlong career : "El Bosque del Lobo" and "No es bueno que el hombre esté solo". Here Vázquez forms an extraordinary couple with Lina Morgan , a famous Spanish actress as cinema as stage in her successful theatre La Latina , Madrid. The films she played were with short budget and lackluster but including comedy and lots of fun , and most of them directed by Mariano Ozores , Pedro Lazaga or Pedro Masó. Lina was a famous actress , she starred successful films , such as : ¨La Tonta Del Bote¨, ¨La Graduada¨ , ¨La Descarrida¨, ¨Fin Semana Al Desnudo¨ , ¨Pecados De Una Chica Decente ¨ , ¨Una Pareja Distinta¨ , ¨Esta Es Lo Que Es¨, and due to a certain success of 'Imposible para una solterona'(1976), Lina and her partner Juan Luís Galiardo would repeat the performance in 'Un día con Sergio' (1976) ¨. Being specially known for his TV series such as ¨Hostal Royal Manzanares¨ (1996), ¨Una De Dos¨ (1998) and ¨Academia Baile Gloria¨ (2001), but she left ¨Escenas De Matrimonio¨ three weeks after joining the cast , due to health problems until her death in 2015. Our two protagonists are assisted by a good cast of familiar faces, such as José Orjas as the priest who marries them, Manuel Díaz González, Emilio Laguna, Rina Ottolina, Alicia Tomás, Eduardo Calvo, José Orjas, Xan das Bolas, Víctor Israel, Fabián Conde, Verónica Forqué who's director's daughter and Susi Sánchez's film debut.

The movie was regularly made, but professionally directed by José Mria Forqué. The prolific filmmaker Forqué had a particular penchant for the Spanish comedy and directed a lot of movies in all kinds of genres , such as : Comedy : the classical Atraco a las 3 , un millón en la basura , Maribel y la extraña familia , La becerrada , Las que tienen que servir , La Vil Seduccion , Madrid Costa Fleming , Pecados conyugales . Thriller : 091 policia al habla , Tarots . Softcore : No es nada mama es solo un juego , La mujer de la tierra caliente . Giallo : El Ojo Del huracán . Science Fiction : Neus 2431 , among others . Rating 5,5/10 . The picture will appeal to the unrepentant fans of Spanish cinema. Only for José Luis López Vázquez and Lina Morgan fans.