Avis Metacritic

Monica Cervera's fearless performance as the homely Marieta, whose movie-made dreams of glamour will never come true, is mesmerizing.

Showing a stylistic bravura and confidence rare among upcoming Spanish helmers, Ramon Salazar's campy 20 Centimeters is a self-regarding but vastly entertaining sophomore effort that fuses a wide range of influences -- Hollywood musicals, neo-realism and early-Almodovarian kitsch -- into a distinctive, giddy whole.

A brash, vivacious concoction of dark comedy, light drama and musical performance.

The chief attraction in the overlong 20 Centimeters, besides ample soft-core sex, are the well-staged musical numbers.

With a mug like hers Cervera must have realized this was her big chance to star in a musical, and she gives a dazzling performance.

Here's yet another self-consciously ''Almodóvarian'' confection, studded with small odes to the glory of self-creation.

The dance numbers grow tiresome after a while, and director/screenwriter Ramon Salazar throws in so many calculated oddities that it's impossible for anyone to become too attached to his characters.

The musical numbers are dreadful and the jokes barely register, but more disappointing is how rote the exploration of the transgender dilemma is.