Un jour de chance

If some demented soul decided to remake the old Kirk Douglas classic "Ace in the Hole" as a modern comedy, this would be it. unfortunately it is neither funny nor tragic. You'd be much better off watching the classic film, even if it seems a little dated. Probably the best part of As Luck Would Have It, originally entitled "La Chinga de la Vida", is the set, which is a Roman ruin. The actors generally do a credible job considering how weak the story is and how unfunny the humor. Everyone ends up playing a caricature or a stereotype, with the son of the leading couple falling more deeply into this trap than anyone can imagine. If you need a comedy about the flight of being an unemployed family man during a recession, you can always fall back on the Full Monty.

¨As Luck Would Have It¨ (La Chispa De La Vida) deals with an out-of-work publicist (Jose Mota) and once popular ad exec can't catch a break, until a freak accident at a Roman theater located in Cartagena puts him at the center of a media frenzy, he hires an agent (Fernando Tejero) to help him cash in on his life-or-death situation in an attempt to provide money for his family . Roberto's loving wife (Salma Hayek) tries to convince him he's worth more alive than dead .

Dramatic comedy follows an unemployed advertising executive as he looks for work , ultimately becoming the focal point of media attention when he falls into a precarious situation . This is a full-on surreal psychotronic black-comedy that blends emotion , thrills , comedy , tension as well as an interesting script full of dark humor ,outrageous drama , odd /selfish characters and exciting situations . This satirical melodrama explores the greedy nature between the media and public consumption . Eloy De La Iglesia moves out from under the literal big top and sets his sites on the mass media , probably as close to a modern circus as you can get . De la Iglesia reigns in his style this time around and delivers a utterly watchable takedown of ambition and media obsession that certainly delivers a few madly inspired moments . But while he tips his hat knowingly to films like Network and Billy Wilder's ¨Ace in the Hole¨, the end result is curiously toothless, and far less outlandish , intense and angry than either of those media-satire hallmarks . The film works on various levels and is constantly reconfigured , however contains some embarrassing , contriving moments and also certain excess . Acceptable performance by José Mota as an executive who has been out of work for a long time and suffers an accident and attempts to sell the exclusive interview rights to the highest bidder . A real standout by Salma Hayek , Mexican-born actress certainly makes up for her short stature with her performance in the film, receiving much praise for her role . Excellent plethora of secondaries such as the recently deceased Juan Luis Galiardo , Joaquin Climent , Juanjo Puigcorbe , Blanca Portillo and Alex De la Iglesia's ordinary actors such as Santiago Segura , Manuel Tallafé , Fernando Tejero , Enrique De La Torre and Carolina Bang whose partner is the director . Colorful and glimmer cinematography by Kiko De La Rica . Thrilling as well as emotive musical score by Joan Valent , the soundtrack flows great with the film in every way, and creates enjoyable atmospheres in every moment.

The motion picture was well directed by the king of black comedy , Alex De La Iglesia , though failed at the Spanish Box office . He's a cool director has got much success as ¨Accion Mutante¨ ,¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos De Risa¨ , ¨Baby's room¨ , ¨Oxford murders¨ and ¨Balada Triste De Una Trompeta¨ and winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers . Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , disturbing scenes .. and many other issues ; you can find everything in this flick . The movie is a lot of fun, especially for those who enjoy surrealist humor . This is without a doubt a thrilling and enjoyable movie to be enjoyed for dark humor buffs and Alex De Iglesia fans.

AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT (dir. Álex de la Iglesia) A weak Spanish satirical comedy about an unemployed advertising executive who suffers a horrific accident in which he falls at a construction site and is pierced through the skull by a piece of iron rebar, yet remains conscious during the entire ordeal. In the process of getting help he engages the service of a publicity agent, and attempts to exploit the situation for all it's worth. The film tries to make a philosophical statement about the nature of a society that would encourage or support such self-serving behavior, but the film doesn't take it far enough. This could have really been a powerful drama or a scathing black comedy, but just came off as a lackluster effort.

Mmmm , What can I say I'm huge fan of Alex de la Iglesia and love in some way almost every film he has made , some more than others of course but at this moment , I was expecting something amazing ; more even after seeing his last film beautifully crafted and visually stunning with an over the top ending but that's something I have learn to accept and even like on his films , I'm talking about The Last Circus (la balada Triste de la Trompeta) after that one , As Luck Would Have It comes as a big disappointment sadly.

The direction is nice nothing you haven't seem before ,the acting is good, but not great, hence to the story line and the script and opposite to the Goyas (something like the Oscars in Spain) I think Salma Hayek in that role seems awkward and out of place.

In general an entertaining flick but very beneath the genius of Alex de la Iglesia.

Gangbusters De la Iglesia movie which defies expectations of taste and form to become extraordinarily involving.

Working from a script by a Hollywood writer, who did Stallone and Van Damme movies and mixing elements we recognize from work like NIGHT & the CITY and DEATH of a SALESMAN, we end up with something that it would be hard to imagine anyone else trying. De La Iglesia is a much better craftsman than Pedro Almodovar to whom he's frequently adversely compared. He brings a feeling of scale to what is a quite intimate subject, a blaring score, the Cartegena Roman circus setting, broad media and promotion satire and particularly a full blooded performance from Hayek, who wins over the audience in her first scene, encouraging Mota not to think of himself as a failure by saying "Look what a hot wife you have!"

As Mota finds himself life imperiled, with a steel spike in his head, the film sneaks up on the spectator till the scene between Hayek and Bang and her last gesture become unexpectedly moving.

The critical response and non response to De Iglesia's movies continues to amaze me.

Throw in another of Santo Segura's endorsement walk-ons - like GROWN UPS.