story@well.com
The professional reviewers must be nuts. "Kika"is wildly funny with lots of typically Almodovar twists, gorgeously acted and stunningly filmed. I have seen most of his films, and each is so different that it's hard to compare them, but this is right at the top along with "Talk to Me", "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", and one or two others. I just love it. Were the Oscars not enormously influenced by Hollywood money this would have won best film, actor, actress, and cinematography.
sol-
More of an ensemble comedy than one would expect for a film titled after a single character, 'Kika' focuses on how the lives of several Spaniards intersect, including a widowed author, his jaded son, the son's reporter ex-girlfriend, a porn star, the porn star's lesbian sister and the makeup artist the sister fancies. It takes quite a while for the trajectories of the characters to overlap and 'Kika' seems a little all over the place at first with bizarre seemingly random incidents like a graveyard murder and placing makeup on a sleeping man thought dead. As the movie progresses though, everything fits into place surprisingly well with the highlight being arguably the funniest rape scene ever filmed. While a comical treatment of the subject might sound in bad taste, the media frenzy that the rape causes in the film makes for an excellent satirical target. The film is less about mocking rape and more about public nonchalance towards it. Almodóvar's satire would have, however, benefited from the rape occurring earlier with more focus on the aftermath and Victoria Abril who, dressed in full-body camera-suit (!), films and unthinkingly broadcast it. There is also a great twist with Peter Coyote's character that deserves more screen time rather than being thrown in at the end, but for all its unevenness and roundabout first half hour, 'Kika' is a reasonably involving motion picture at the end of the day.
Karoline Avariesku
This movie is called "Kika" yet does not tell the story of the cosmetologist, just smalls bits of it. It should be called "Nicolas meets Kika" or "Ramon meets Kika", which are the ones this movie is about. Nevertheless, Kika's appearance doesn't affect the plot line. Nick's crazy killing spree would've been far more interesting if there was any background at all, and at the beginning when Ramon's mother commits "suicide" it is very plain to see that someone else shot her in the chest, leaving the rest of the movie pretty predictable. I know this is supposedly a comedy, but the raping scene it's just awful and Kika's reaction afterward even more unrealistic. I wanted to see how Pablo was caught and Kika turned into lesbian, and formed a couple with Juana. Also I wanted to see more about Andrea Scarface's show and Juana's obvious lesbianism. I completely disliked this film, it didn't made me laugh even once and the only thing I can say I agree about, is Juana's lines about not wanting to shave because mustaches are not men's heritage only.
filfy-2
Although the film is ostensibly about "Kika," she is actually only one character featured in this raunchy, ensemble comedy.The plot here is all over the place! This is not necessarily bad--one character ties into another character's life and the focus of the movie moves in a circular manner which eventually returns to our heroine, the naive but lovable Kika (well-portrayed by Verónica Forqué).This film is funny! It's a combination of "There's Something About Mary," Woody Allen at his zaniest, and "Sex and the City." Good for a laugh, especially for the poor dubbing of Peter Coyote's Spanish.
AD
