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.

The story takes place in Madrid , 2016 Christmas , altogether restricted in one night , during the never-ending TV taping for a New Year's Eve program. Then , botcher Jose (Pepon Nieto) is called in just as his sister is en route to an abroad journey and he has to take care of his mummy (Terele Pavez) . José is sitting next to other guests as Yanire ( Ana Polvorosa) , Josua (Luis Fernández) , Antonio (Luis Fernández) and the gorgeous as well as goofy Paloma (Blanca Suárez) who unexpectedly falls for him . Then , José is warned by his partners she's some kind of a jinx . Meantime , teen idol Adanne (Mario Casas) takes on the jealous as well as veteran star singer Alphonso (Raphael) , a super divo who is harassing his helper Yuri (Carlos Areces) . At the end all of them clash and eventually explode out into a bustling confrontation each other .

De la Iglesia's bewildering comedy ¨My gran noche¨ about a TV broadcasting programme , it blends intriguing elements with humor , tongue-in-cheek and thrills ; so, the tone of the film is light-hearted as well as stirring . The movie is developed in a marvelous crescendo that turns into rapidly the situation from a fun party into a bloody battleground that reveals the surprising as well as busy aspects , top-shelf comedic flair and naturalistic theatrics . A wonderful and talented plethora of actors, the mainstays of current Spanish cinema, implements a totally noisy comedy interspersed with songs and dances perfectly choreographied . The picture pays tribute a great Singer : Rafael , he plays splendidly an old singer called Alfonso . Alphonso's songs are real themes sang by Raphael, including the own title of the movie. Rafael has a long singing career from more than forty years ago , acting around the world , European and Eastern countries , Russia , the United States : Miami and New York's Carnegie Hall . He played a lot of successful films such as : Volveré a nacer , Sin un adiós , Al ponerse el sol , Cuando tú no estas , El ángel , El golfo . Last years he had an extreme illness , after recovering from a liver transplant early this year, Raphael has recorded a new album, "Raphael, de vuelta" ("Raphael is back") and will go on a world tour, starting in Madrid (Spain) on september 25, that will take him, among other places, to Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panamá.

It packs an adequate and moving musical score by Joán Valent . And a colorful and appropriate cinematography by Ángel Amorós . The motion picture was well written (along with his usual screenwriter Jorge Guerricaechevarría) and directed by De La Iglesia , though results to be inferior than his former films , including some flaws and gaps . De La Iglesia is well known as the Spanish king of black comedy . He's a cool director has got much success as ¨Accion Mutante¨ ,¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos De Risa¨ , ¨Baby's room¨ , ¨Oxford murders¨ , ¨Balada Triste De Una Trompeta¨ and ¨Perdita Durango¨ is probably the weirdest Javier Bardem film ever made . And , of course , ¨Day of the beast¨ and ¨La Comunidad¨ obtained the unanimous praise of both the critics and the public and result to be a lot of fun¨, especially for those who enjoy surrealist humor , they won several Goya prizes and and resulted to be a turning point in his meteoric career ; from then on he became his own producer, beginning with '800 bullets' (2002) through the Pánico Films company . Winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers , as his films have a kind of comic edge to them . Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , disturbing scenes and many other issues ; you can find everything in this flick . ¨My Big Night ¨ captures the essence of the best Alex De La Iglesia, a filmmaker who, at this point in his own story, is respected and admired worldwide and has the most committed fans in the film universe . This is without a doubt an enjoyable movie to be enjoyed for comedy buffs and Alex De Iglesia fans .

"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.

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 ....

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!