Tres bodas de más

3 bodas de más (Three Many Weddings in English) is your typical Spanish romantic comedy, which only differs with the American one in two points: it has more nudity, and is more politically incorrect. But it is funny, even if it loses the opportunity of make more of its idea.

The story is as simple as you could expect: woman breaks up with guy in boss's wedding and goes into depression mode: she is not going to find the love of her life, she gets drunk and does a one-night-stand with the first guy that comes through... But then, suddenly, three of her former boyfriends decide to invite her to their weddings. Ruth, the woman (played by Inma Cuesta, doing a good job) is reticent to go and angry at all of them at the same time, but Dani, who works for her, convinces Ruth that it could be good to go, show that she is not doing so bad, and... well, the point is to find as many situations as possible for Ruth to embarrass herself in public while she grows as a person and empowers herself. And the movie does a great job and Inma Cuesta is game.

The movie is funny, with some laugh-out moments. The romantic part is not so well done, and I find Quim Gutiérrez as Jonás a little bit underwhelming, even if he is a good actor enough. The evolution of Ruth's feelings for the men around her is not well developed and makes for an uneven ride, even if a fun one. It doesn't break the rule book, but it is a good time at the movies.

It was the typical Spanish silly rom-com that usually I don't like. It was a bit funny though, but the transphobic comments ruined it.

Like the stifled and self-repressed female lobsters she is studying, Ruth is desperate and hopeless in romance. She falls for one dirtbag after another. She seems unwilling or perhaps unable to stand up for herself not only with men, but also with her manipulative boss, cranky coworkers, bossy mom, and even when driving. Ex-boyfriends invite her to their weddings and she goes partly to prove them wrong and party to troll for men. One likable guy encourages her to believe in herself. This unexpected support takes her in a new direction and she is not sure if it is good. This delightful romantic comedy really breaks the mold. It is zany, irreverent and gut-busting, non-stop funny. Ruth (Inma Cuesta) is a riot and so are the other actors. The director claims the film is based on real events. Seen at the 2014 Miami International Film Festival.

I'm not usually a follower of my country's comedy films, but every now and then you get to watch something that slaps you in the face, in the best of ways. This is one of the cases, as you don't expect the gags to be so enormously funny, and I mean "there's-something-about-Mary" kind of funny. The Farrelly brothers could have sign this script without blinking an eye. Javier Ruiz is undoubtedly the most promising comedy director there is in the Spanish movie industry, and the actors he picks are always good choices. Inma Cuesta proves herself to be more than valuable in drama and comedy, and the rest of the cast is almost flawless.

Give this movie a try and forget about the usual bullshit. This is NOT it.

I had seen this film on cable last year and thought at that time, that it was OK. But it's appearing again on cable, and I found myself watching it again, and I am not sure why, it's more or less a typical romantic farce. But maybe that's just it; the film knows what it is. What hooked me to watch it a second time was one of the gags near the beginning where the lead actress, Inma Cuesta, is late for work, still has not unpacked her drinking glasses from moving in recently, needs a fast drink of water, so she leans over and drinks from the faucet like a dog. Then, running out the door, knocks over the box that contains the glasses, breaking them. I guess that little joke works because of a combination of good direction, those big goofy glasses she wears, and the actress herself? I mean it's not much, but the film is loaded with scenes like that, that just work, it's just a funny flick period. I had seen Inma Cuesta before in the film "Grupo 7"(which is excellent). She had a minor role in that one, and that was a crime drama, but she played Mario Casa's wife very well in that one. Check out "Tres bodas de más" for some good slapstick romantic comedy........ But then, what woman would actually go to the weddings of three ex boyfriends, all within a month? That premise alone sets the stage for this film.