✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Spain, Denmark · 2003
1h 27m
Director Pablo Berger
Starring Javier Cámara, Candela Peña, Juan Diego, Fernando Tejero
Genre Comedy, Drama
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Spanish encyclopedia salesman Alfredo volunteers to make adult films with his wife, Carmen, for a series of supposedly educational titles on reproduction to be marketed in Scandinavia. What Carmen really wants is a baby, but she unexpectedly becomes a popular sex symbol in northern Europe.
This delicious little period piece from Spanish writer-director Pablo Berger is like one of those really expensive chocolates, where you start out expecting a brief sugar buzz and end up surprised by the sophistication and delicacy of the flavor.
Village Voice by Ben Kenigsberg
Its Saul Bass-y credits suggest an Almodóvarian flamboyance, but this impotent '70s-set comedy mostly skimps on discoteca stylishness.
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
The result is a highly amusing folly, rendered with a surprisingly gentle affection.
Somewhat wacky tale, based on real events, is kept anchored in reality through attention to detail and by first-rate central perfs.
Raunchy without ever devolving into flat-out prurience, Berger's oddly sweet comedy perfectly captures the naivete of the era and the unexpected wholesomeness of some of its adult entertainment.
Pablo Berger's subtle satire Torremolinos 73 is almost there. Almost.
The New York Times by Lawrence Van Gelder
Such a joyous celebration of sex and filmmaking that viewers will forgive its director for taking time out to enjoy a little of both.
Slyly funny.
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Has the dubious distinction of being just about the mildest porno comedy ever made. It's like something the teenage Pedro Almodóvar might have written to shock his 10th-grade creative writing teacher.
Chicago Reader by Reece Pendleton
Camara and Peña are perfectly cast as the bewildered couple, and early on Berger gets some laughs from the one-note premise. But the material grows increasingly stale as the film drags on to its unintentionally creepy finale.
A man, thoroughly dissatisfied with his life, finds new meaning when he forms a fight club with soap salesman Tyler Durden.
Get ready for Helen.