El señor está servido

A silly and somewhat stale comedy, well-starred by a great cast and mediocre direction by Sinesio Isla. Three stories about three young domestic workers: Martina (Elisa Ramírez), a union representative for the sector, who always resolves labor-related queries over the phone while serving her masters' meals; the loving couple Gloria (Mirta Miller) and Juan (Rafael Alonso), who are always looking for a place to make love and can't protest for fear of being left without service and Basilia (Josele Román), who arrives in Madrid with her father (Erasmo Pascual) and mother to work as a maid. She is a somewhat clumsy girl who doesn't know how to do anything around the house, who comes from the village to work in the capital and is placed in the same building as Martina. And Laly (Nadiuska), a stunning, serious, and very decent girl, all things considered, who can't stay in any house for more than 24 hours because all the masters want to grope her. And she doesn't allow anyone to do that except for Benito, her boyfriend (Manolo Zarzo), who eventually moves into the apartment of the family of the seemingly serious and respectable gentleman Don Alberto Arregui (José Luis López Vázquez) and his wife, Luisa Arregui (Claudia Gravy), while the grandfather (Emilio Forner) and his grandchildren stand behind her, admiring her slender legs.

The film partially portrays 1960s society, with the contrast between rural and urban civilization, and is full of sympathy, as well as frivolity, selfishness, duplicity, and constant deceit. It's a crazy Spanish comedy that lacks intellectual stimulation, although it has some funny and hilarious moments. The routine Spanish comedy, full of maids and lascivious young and old people, but which becomes increasingly unstable as it progresses, turns out to be a representative film of that Spanish cinema that showed the common customs and peculiarities of Spain as it always was, and which, of course, were not exportable because they displayed the typical Spanish idiosyncrasy. The humor is sometimes corny and embarrassing, with numerous silly situations and other times without much sense. This hilarious yet very average movie is full of humor, absurd scenes, and tells the conflict between traditional Spanish society (represented by a girl from the village) and modernity; as well as the ordinary life of those who at that time were called chachas (today, domestic workers) and their relationships with the masters of the house. The comic events are continuous, surreal, ridiculous, and sometimes disconcerting, but at times, here and there, they are also bold and laughable. This film is made to entertain, and this film, especially, is made to have a good time and have a pleasant diversion. This very mediocre comedy deals with hilarious and costumbral stories, adding enjoyable but also embarassing moments and adequate acting from a good cast of actors: Josele Román, who arrives in Madrid to work as a maid, and José Luis López Vázquez as the mature young man who wants to seduce the maid Nadiuska by any means, including feigning illness, among others. It is a simple, slight and humorous portrait of a time when the Spanish people lived in the midst of an economic boom, with a consumer society and wealthier people taking advantage of others less fortunate than themselves. Its nostalgic air has some acceptable moments that reflect Spain in the 1960s and 1970s: a country poorly developed economically during the years in which the action takes place. It is full of typically Spanish themes, a plain plot, and atmospheric sets. This movie is made to entertain, and especially to have a good time and be entertained enough. Thus, the feature film is brimming with absurd incidents, comic scenes, grotesque situations, and, above all, contains touches of sarcastic humor and irony. It strikes a strange balance between the completely absurd and the elegantly funny. There are some good moments here and there, and the cast, playing eccentric characters, fits perfectly. It's a fun and funny film, although rather mediocre. The trio of maids is quite good: Nadiuska, Elisa Ramírez, and Josele Román, who are well accompanied by a great supporting cast. "El señor está servido (The Lord Is Served)" showcases a very good supporting cast, giving acceptable performances. Although it is primarily an ensemble film, it has a large main and supporting cast full of well-known actors, such as: Guadalupe Muñoz Sampedro, Manuel Zarzo, Rafael Alonso, Andrés Resino, Manuel Alexandre, Jesús Guzmán, Luis Barbero, Rafael Hernández, Erasmo Pascual, Eva León, Simón Arriaga, Pilar Gómez Ferrer, Carmen Martínez Sierra and the writer Alfonso Paso.

This is a picture with some bemusing moments , being written by notorious Vicent Coello and Vicente Escrivá. The motion picture was professional but middlingly directed by Sinesio Isla , getting success enough in the Spanish box office. This film ¨El señor está servido¨ follows the style and production of the other ones directed by Pedro Lazaga or Mariano Ozores, with hardly any difference in their results. Sinesio Isla's direction, in his only film, was average, but he was a regular and efficient Assistant Director or Second Unit, working in several movies such as: Solos en la madrugada , Zorrita Martínez, Una abuelita de antes de la guerra, Polvo eres.., Tocata y fuga de Lolita, Vida conyugal sana, Bell from Hell, Las flores del miedo, Entre dos amores, Las colocadas, La novicia rebelde, Las ibéricas F. C., Españolas en París. Rating: 4.5/10. An uneven film only recommended for the unforgivable fans of Spanish comedies from the sixties.