Mi gran noche

Alex de la Iglesia is in my opinion the best Spanish director. Even better than Almodovar and Medem.

He made several masterpieces like El Crimen Perfecto (The Perfect Crime), 800 Bullets, Common Wealth, Muertos de risa, Dance with the Devil and The Day of the Beast. But even more recent effort Witching and Bitching (whose first 30 minutes are brilliant) or The Last Circus (a very personal movie) are better and deeper movies that almost anything else released that year.

This time, everything happens during the New Year eve recording in a TV channel. Outside there is a violent riot, and inside a bunch of nutcase characters with many issues; including an ego driven singer (the legendary Raphael) and a young rising star (the excellent Mario Casas).

Many things happen, mostly for humor; sometimes quite violent or sexual related; but at the end what was supposed to be a satire on the TV and felt short and become just a very mad comedy with many high moments and some low ones. In brief; it is not the best Alex de la Iglesia made; but it is worth seeing it.

This film is a hilarious, well shot, glorious mix of every kind of mayhem you can imagine. Super over the top, yet full of endearing moments and an attention to detail that blew me away. I loved it! One of the better Alex de la Iglesia films.

An honest-to-God funny comedy, with interesting characters, several intertwining zany engaging stories, great production, great sound score and even better cast, what else is there to wish for?! It even has a meaningful message! Pop this one in and get ready to cry out laughing!

You are either with the director or you aren't. But if you like fast paced comedy that takes no prisoners, than you are at the right place (no pun intended). This is a comedy that takes you through a whole bunch of emotions and it succeeds on every level. It's funny, it has suspense, there is mystery and there is adult themes running through the whole thing for everyone to enjoy.

The acting is spot on (again no pun intended) and for a one location shoot, his goes places other movies would not dare to take you. The director also takes his wife through the wringer. The wonderful Carmella Bang is wonderful as always, but her character is not as lovable. Which is something that can be said about most of the people in this. It's show business after all ....

"My Big Night" from 2015 is a very funny Spanish film about the attempts to tape a New Years Eve program. Outside there are dozens and dozens of angry protesters due to a recent firing of 500 people at the studio. When part of the set falls on an extra, another one, Jose (Pepon Nieto) is called in just as his sister is en route to Disneyland and he has to take care of his mother. The woman (Bianca Suarez) he is sitting next to throws herself at him, but he's warned she's some sort of a jinx.

The rest of the extras have been there forever and some have formed romantic attachments. Meanwhile backstage teen idol Adanne (Mario Casas) is having some romantic attachments of his own, one from a woman who steals his semen as part of a blackmail plot. Another, over the hill super divo Alphonso (Raphael), is torturing his assistant, who turns out to be his adoptive son Yuri, with demands. Little does Alphonse know, but Yuri has brought in a hit man - a disgruntled fan - to get rid of Alphonse once and for all. During a sound check, the hit man stands in for Alphonse, as he knows every word of the song. Then Jose gets a call - his mother has set fire to the apartment building where she lives with her daughter, and the police deliver her to the set.

All of this, combined with the hilarious musical numbers, makes for a very funny movie with some wild performances, particularly from Raphael and Mario Casas. I have seen some of these variety shows done in Spain and Italy, and they are enormous productions done on huge sound stages.

I love these chaotic comedy films, and this one was a lot of fun. Highly recommended.