Description

Heaven has sent its best, and the devil has enlisted his worst - VictoriaAbril and Penelope Cruz co-star as agents doing battle for ultimate supremacy.Thewinner is to be decided by whoever can secure the soul of a short-tempered, punch-drunkboxer on earth.These sexy angels pull no punches, using their brains, wiles and ofcourse, sex appeal.Damnation has never been this seductive, and seduction never moreheavenly; he’s not going to know what hit him…he’s only human! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Heaven/Hell Can Wait
In one clever twist of fate, two beautiful angels -- one from Heaven and one from Hell -- collide on the road of fate to save the soul for their respective kingdoms in the whimsical DON'T TEMPT ME.

The voluptuous Penelope Cruz stars as Carmen, a man turned into a woman upon her arrival in Hell. However, when the corporate kingpins of the Underworld conspire to seize control of the real 'Land Down Under,' she's given a chance to return to Earth (in heavenly form) for a battle of wits against Lola (played by the equally sultry Victoria Abril), an angel starting to grow weary of always serving as a do-gooder who happens to be sent to Earth to claim the same misguided soul. Together, the two have a quirky comic chemistry (watch the scenes of Carmen trying to teach Lola how to hold a gun) that keeps the picture moving, despite some plotholes along the way.

While TEMPT borders on a kind of comic genius, it never quite reaches the pearly gates of comedy. Again, the script (or the story) is the key, and, while many elements are played very tightly against one another in unique parallels, writer (and director) Agustin Diaz Yanes just keeps missing the mark to raise the bar from the predictable to the unpredictable ... the true benchmark of any great comedy.

Excellent Actors in a Bad Flick
That is right, this film features some of the finest Spanish and French actors/actresses out there, as well as the popular Mexican actor, Gael Garcia Bernal. I suppose I was expecting more out of this dud, but the jokes were not funny, the whole concept was a bit corny, the script was uneven, then ending was dumb, this film was trying to be something that it is not.
It attepmted to come off as an Almodovar/Ozon, stylish, artistic comedy. Way too ambitious. This would have been better as a lowbudget indy flick with unknown actors. Seeing great entertainers like Victoria Abril in a flick that does not measure up to her talent just isn't right.
Get the plot, premise from other reviewers. I suppose it is worth a look if you are a diehard fan of some of the actors in it, but otherwise, avoid.

Big Ideas Poorly Implemented
There was a lot of ideas going into this movie, too many ideas. Heaven and Hell battle over the soul of one man, a disfunctional boxer. Tacked onto this relatively simple plot is a lot of trappings -- glimpses of Hell and Heaven that should have been developed more. With Hell being an English speaking corporation and Heaven being Paris is an interesting concept, it actually proved to be more interesting the dismal boxer story. But we got only glimpses of what the afterlife was like and spent too much time focussed on the less-interesting and less-orignal boxer's fate.
Dogma took on similar subject matter and pulled it off much better. In Dogma the glimpses given of Heaven & Hell (Chris Rock, Alan Rickman, Penelope Cruz, the roller skating hockey playing kids) felt realized. I didn't need more time with Alanis Morrisette's God to understand Her or more time with Jason Lee's character to understand him. Here, I didn't understand the inner workings the afterlife. I had a lot more questions even about the main characters: Abril & Cruz. Even they were not developed well enough and felt more like shards of characters than actual people.

I would not say this movie is bad. It should be given credit for the ambitiousness of its subject matter. But it was handled poorly. The filmaker has lots of potential. This movie doesn't live up to its potential.

An embarrassment to all who star in this...
This film wants to be so much more than it is.
It tries to be clever and inventive, but I personally found it to be nothing but poor.
I would think the stars of this film are embarrassed at its outcome.
Not funny, not clever, juts tacky and poorly filmed.

I found Cruz's character annoying (especially her masculine walk - which is explained at some point), Bernals acting off the mark (when in English) and Abril was not on top form. All of these leads have been in and performed better.

The black and white scenes look cheap, and whilst the constant change of languages (from French to Spanish to English) is interesting for a while, it started to get on my nerves.

I really wanted to enjoy the film, but ultimately I found it to be very disappointing and simply boring.
I didn't even find the films interpretation of heaven and hell interesting - just silly.

In summary, vaguely interesting, but no-where near as clever as it wants to be.

A New Spanish Master of Filmmaking is On the Scene!
DON'T TEMPT ME (or SIN NOTICIAS DE DIOS in the original) is a sparkling, surreal, humorous, and meaty bit of filmmaking of the type that we have come to expect form the Spanish School of Cinema. Augustin Diaz Yanes both wrote and directed this absorbing parable and has cast it with some of the finest talent from around the globe. His use of smart dialogue, choices of cinematic technique, and rapid fire pacing drives this delicious tale along the paths of Bunuel, Almodovar, etc.

The plot: the corporate executives (American profiles of course - though played by British actors like Gemma Jones all speaking in English) of Hell have found a strong need to obtain the soul of a living boxer (Demian Bichir) to join them in Hell. The recruiter Jack (in a terrific performance by the extraordinarily gifted Gael Garcia Bernal) agrees to assign worker Carmen (Penelope Cruz, finally in a role that allows her to demonstrate her broad range of acting skills from drama to comedy) to go to earth to finalize this corporate decision. Meanwhile, in Heaven (quite appropriately filmed in black and white in Paris where the one in charge is Marina d'Angelo played with subtle charm by Fanny Ardant and using French as the language) the elected angel to foster the heavenly admission of the boxer is Victoria Abril (more beautiful than ever and pulling off the heavenly role as a chanteuse with aplomb).

Cruz and Abril move in with Bichir, become involved in the struggle over his soul as well as attempting to thwart the results of Bichir's chaotic life as a has-been, in debt boxer. The remainder of the tale is a back and forth pitting of heavenly and Hadean forces and their bungling of both sides of the pitch for Bichir's soul. As the film ends, both the dark and light angels become transiently human, and we learn what their next steps in their respective afterlives might be.

Appropriately, this 'comedy' has many dramatic sides, as is requisite for a true comedy. But rest assured with a cast of this caliber and the quality of direction of this surrealistic tale you will be thoroughly entertained. It is refreshing to have a movie move in many languages while it parodies the source countries of each language used to tell a story of good vs evil - and all that jazz! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Pedro Alomodóvar made this misfired, rambling comedy about a romance novelist (Marisa Paredes) whose crumbling marriage has left her depressed and unable to work. At a low point, she writes a scathing indictment of her own books (which are penned under another name), with no one realizing critic and author are one and the same. Almodóvar (Law of Desire) has the start of a great idea here, and for once, he's direct about his sympathy for a character. But nothing else about The Flower of My Secret is so clear. Despite its unusual allegiance to the straightforward "women's films" of the 1950s, this movie blows it by becoming needlessly complicated over extraneous junk, forcing one to grope in the dark for Almodóvar's point. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Description

An extraordinary comedy with a touch of optimism, that teaches us there’s always hope for couples going thru rough times and it’s never too late to choose a fresh and uncharted path.Juan (Juan Luis Galiardo), the idealist, and the innocent Pepe (Juan Echanove) have returned to Spain with their partners, Angelica (Rosa Maria Sarda) and Carmela (the unbelievably sexy Neus Asensi). Living in abject poverty and in love with the same woman, Juan and Pepe are about to commit suicide when the host of a "Reality Show" invites them to his program to cure their misfortunes.This sidesplitting comedy, with its undeniable charm, teaches us that even when the going gets tough, there is always an alternative! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Quiet restrained Almodovar with love to Spanish Culture
A quiet restrained Almodovar movie, rich with symbols and style (artistic shots made through different patterns - mirrors, straw chair patterns, etc.). This movie is also a tribute to the Spanish culture - dance, food and various elements of the folklore which appear in lace making, landscape and portrayal of "country people".
This is the story of Leo (Marisa Paredes) who is a writer. Leo writes her stories under a pseudonym as she is not proud of the sugary love stories she writes. This "real/unreal love" is one of the main themes and conflicts of the movie. Leo, under again another pseudonym attacks her own love stories while Angel, her new boss and friend writes in favor of the sugary author. Should we believe the dramatic love story which always comes with a happy ending but is somewhat untrue or should we write / or dream about everyday truthful life where love, like other achievements comes after hard work?
In the opening scene Leo has trouble getting her boots off - the boots are a present from her husband and she wears them although they are so tight she cannot breath. In what is later understood as a very symbolic act she tries to take the boots off in various ways but succeeds only after her friend Betty manages to help her. Betty works in the transplant section of the hospital (transplants and the detailed process of explaining the death of a dear one to his relatives also appear in Almodovar "all about my mother" and Almodovar is definitely doing a great service to this matter). Leo drinks a lot. She is very miserable and misses her husband who is in the army. Leo knows they are having problems but it seems that the viewer is in a better position to understand the nature of their relationship. Leo is both aware of problems yet blind to several facts that are presented to her face (blindness is another motive - as Leo's mother who was brought from the country to live with Leo's sister in the city is half blind, yet there are several things she can "see" very well). When Leo finally understands the truth - she falls apart and is aided back to life by her family and new friend.
This is first of all a love story, but more then that this is a story of loyalty vs. infidelity (on the one hand we have Blanka, Leo's faithful maid and on the other side her close friend), city vs. country, and once and again the question of truth - in relationships, in writing, and maybe in art in general (through the story of Blanka and her son dance group).
Marisa Parades is convincing and is aided by a lovely group of actors of which I would like to mention Leo's sister, Rossy de Palma whose face is so memorable you cannot forget. This actress has also participated in Almodovar movie "Kika" and makes a strong impression.

Hooray for Hollywood
You either love or hate Aldomovar films. This one may win over a new legion of fans but is very unlike most of his movies. So which is the real Aldomovar, the straight romanticist or the outrageous dierctor? Probably both but more bizarre than stright considering his style leans more to wacky characters verses isn't she sweet characters. This movie is different from any of his previous works in that it is, well for lack of a better word, mundane. This is not one of my favorite Aldomovar movies. The plot is simple, a woman is in crisis in her life, unhappy in her marriage, writing (romance) novels that are about everything she is missing in her life, and her denial of what she needs, real romance. Marisa Paredes, who has beeen hilarious in other Aldomovar films is just ok as the novelist in the story, Amanda Gris. Her full talents are not utilized though as she is not as funny in her depiction of Amanda, it's just not in the character I guess. Check out some of her other roles and you'll see what I mean, she's better in the other movies. Her husband is consumed with his career and other "projects". It is a bit of a sad story and maybe too close to real life, that is why some will love it and others not. More women will like this than men, translation dare I say, chick flick. This is more of a mainstream movie that departs from Aldomovar's usual flair for the unusual usual suspects. For me this movie and the performances were just to ordinary. That said many will love it.

My favorite Almodóvar
I agree with what the second reviewer says about this sensitive, passionate, lyrical portrayal of a courageous, strong, disciplined woman whose nemesis, as always, results from the heart. The betrayals she suffers are as profound as her love is and Marisa Paredes comes through as one of the half a dozen or so most important film actresses of the decade. One particular scene, the mother returning to her native village, provides one of the most exquisite moments in film: the background text and the sight and the voice becoming a separate moment of intense recollection and joy. Nothing misfired about this genuine masterpiece. ''Mamadoc'' s.marie

Perfect story about people's search for love and comfort...
This film is perhaps especially telling to people in their 40's and 50's, because character's search for love and comfort can only be fully appreciated by people of this age, who are more or less in the same situation as this woman-novelist with numerous emotional problems and no solution to them.

She does find a solution eventually, but you have to wait until the end of the film to see that. It will not dissapoint you at all; in fact, it might surprise you a great deal...

Wonderful supporting characters (e.g. novelist's mother and sister) make this film an outstanding thinking piece about human life. Very deep!

Lovely and Touching . . .
. . . and maybe those aren't words fans normally associate with Almodovar, at least when not linked to words like "junky," "transvestite," or "porn star." I disagree with the reviewer who termed this a misfire--it's simply a more thoughtful film by this usually over-the-top director. Visually, one of his most arresting films, Almodovar chooses to focus this time on the distance between true love and idealized love as seen in romance novels and how they sometimes intersect in surprising ways. Marissa Paredes shows stunning range as the main character--at times both critically stung and deeply needy and yet passionate and cocky . . . boy, do you root for her. And the scene in which she is literally pushed by a mob of protesters into the arms of the man she could be truly happy with is one of the best in movies. NOT a disappointment at all. ... Read more